The Meaning of Brotherhood
by VaultDwellerofVault101
Summary: When the Uchiha Massacre happened, Konoha was devastated by the loss of arguably the strongest clan alive. Only one member survived; Uchiha Sasuke became the Lone Uchiha, but this time he's completely alone. Itachi dies in the Massacre and leaves his younger brother a gift, while a masked man is held responsible for the killing spree. How will Sasuke live on? No pairings confirmed!
1. Brotherhood Intro: Sacrifice

Hello everyone! I'm starting to get serious about writing, and it should be very obvious in this chapter and story. Yes, Sasuke is kind of the protagonist here. At least for the start, but **this does not mean he will take Naruto's place in any cannon plotline**. I will try to stay close to cannon as much as I can, but there will certainly be changes. You see a really, REALLY big one here. There will be quite some character development before we see Sasuke getting into Team 7 but bear with me. Sasuke's theme in cannon was going after Itachi. That's gone from chapter 1 here, so we'll see a very different Sasuke than cannon. He is OOC. And what is good character development without a little lot of action? I'm not making any promises to satisfy you all, but I will try to make this story as enjoyable as possible. So, enjoy if you can and dislike if you don't! Either way, don't forget to review! VD, signing out.

"..." = Talking

'...' = Thinking

**"..." **= Bijuu talking

* * *

**Brotherhood**

When Sasuke opened the door to his parents' room, what he saw was one of the last things he could have ever expected. Blood covered the ground and some even tainted the walls, the sight being too gruesome for the boy to take. But he had to watch, he had to _see _the scene at front of him. His parents laid dead, one next to the other with such horrible expressions Sasuke could see the pain of death in them. He knew a boy shouldn't have to take all this in, but his eyes were locked on something else. A sight even more horrifying. It was his own brother, sitting at the end of the room and staring back at him. And the worst part of it all, as it rang over and over in Sasuke's mind, was that he was _dying_. His older brother sat with a wound on his chest than ran him completely through, and even a poorly trained Sasuke could tell that was it for him.

"N-niisan..." Sasuke muttered, his horror-filled eyes unable to leave his older brother. Itachi looked up to meet them with his own, and gave his younger brother a pained smile.

"Brother, y-you came just in time" the man was able to whisper, obviously straining his voice.

"Niisan! Niisan you can't die!" Sasuke exclaimed and jumped over the bodies –by Kami, those were his parents but they were dead and his brother was not- to get to his brother. The boy knelt next to his brother, not noticing three tomoes in his eyes swirling and turning into three crooked lines that merged at the center. And then he noticed no more.

ox-ox-ox-ox-ox-

**One week later**

"He should wake up today, right?" said a worried nurse to a doctor, who hummed and paid no more attention to her as he entered Sasuke's hospital room. Checking to see if the lights were at a sensible level and the room temperature slightly higher than usual, he then put his eyes on the bedridden boy. He had been checking Sasuke every thirty minutes with military precision; shinobi medics were trained to do no less.

The doctor took a seat this time and pulled a file from his coat. He sighed and looked around; it was a poorly dressed room with basic designs that meant white or blue colors just for having any. His file was far more interesting however, and he quickly glued his eyes to it. Sasuke's picture was the first thing he saw, but it was obviously one taken quite a while ago. The boy was just a bit shorter in the picture, but for one his age that was enough to mean at least a few months.

He was distracted with his reading when the doctor felt movement from the bed. Sasuke stirred every now and then, but the experienced man knew this was different. He quickly set the file on the desk to his right and stood up in alert. Although the doctor didn't know for certain, he suspected there were ANBU present in the room at all times and suspicion alone was enough to be careful. The boy's file and reason for being in the hospital made things much worse, and that was saying something. Anything above ANBU keeping track of you at all times easily scared even seasoned shinobi.

"Where…" Sasuke whispered, his voice rasp and weak. He tried to sit, but the doctor quickly put a hand on his chest.

"Easy young man. You're at the Konoha Hospital, and my name's Dr. Kurogi. I'll answer all your questions, but please stay silent and drink this" the man said as he picked up a cup of water prepared beforehand and put it on Sasuke's hand. The boy didn't understand what was going on and he looked like it, but he did as told and greedily drank the cup down.

"Also, do not take the blindfold off" the doctor warned, seeing how the boy was moving his hand to his face. The Uchiha scowled weakly, his annoyance at being confined to a bed and without eyesight finally getting the better of him.

"What happened? Why am I here?" he asked, tilting his head to where he heard the doctor's voice coming from.

"You had a very serious injury Sasuke. What is the last thing you remember?"

"I… was doing kunai training. Then I went to sleep" the boy said before shaking his head. Something wasn't right. He was missing something.

"As I thought, you have a slight case of memory loss. Do not worry-" he said and stopped Sasuke from trying to get up again before continuing "-it's not permanent, and you will regain it with time. You were placed under a powerful genjutsu – an illusion, if you haven't been told about the ninja arts yet – and you've also suffered an injury to your eyes" he explained to a now quiet Sasuke, who was looking forward and gripping his covers tightly.

After a few seconds of silence, it was Sasuke who broke it. "Will I be able to see?" he asked, trying but failing to mask the worry in his voice. The doctor caught on and his own voice turned just a bit more gentle. "Yes, our tests say you will see even better than before" he said, and the Uchiha relaxed.

Soon after, he was told the whole story about the Uchiha Massacre; how every Uchiha had been murdered in their own compound, except for Sasuke. He was even told on how they suspected a man in a swirling mask to have committed the killing. On how it was believed his brother Itachi was the only one that could fight back, but still failed in killing this person. And he was told that his eyes might have been transplanted, but when he asked how all he was told was that "they didn't know".

Now the boy roamed the empty Uchiha compound, having been released from the hospital a couple of days after waking up. The doctor had removed his blindfold, and the reduced light was just weak enough to not burn itself into his eyes. His sight was still blurry, but other than that his eyes felt fine. He didn't think much on the questions doctors and psychologists did to him. Not after hearing what happened to his once proud clan. There was only one thing that caught his attention, which was why he headed back to where he was found unconscious.

He stood on his parents' room, now clean of all the stains of blood. Reliving his memories would help him regain them, the doctors said. And he had believed them, but now he saw no results. Frustrated, he slammed the door to the room after walking out. He didn't really know where he was walking to, but it suddenly made sense when he recognized the door to his brother's room.

'_Should I really enter? Niisan didn't like me entering here without his permission… But he's de- NO! You were here, you forgot what happened right? He's not dead until you remember! Focus Sasuke! You have to remember, how did he survive? Where is he? I'm not giving up on him, now or never! And if entering his room will help, then I will do it!_' he argued with himself inside his mind, his hand on the doorknob all this time. But he had taken a decision, and the door slowly creaked open to reveal a rather normal-looking room with a poster with the Uchiha logo greeting him. Carefully stepping in as if the room was full of live mines, he looked around to see what he could find. The room was neatly organized, and so he quickly latched his eyes at the only thing that could pass as a book in plain sight.

Opening it revealed a diary with Itachi's handwriting; it was his, and he was intruding! He almost threw it away, but curiosity held his hand. He looked at it again without reading, then found himself already through half the page. '_Niisan really wrote this much?_' he wondered as he flipped the page of Itachi's musings and day-to-day stories. Finding most of them enlightening but not what he was looking for, Sasuke was ready to let the diary down.

But then he looked at it again. The words were in red, as if written with blood. His own hands were stained in red and he quickly tossed the diary away. Looking around in horror, he ran out of his brother's room and into his own. By then his mind knew it was all an illusion. But he didn't feel even a bit calm anymore. He was sobbing without even knowing why, but then he looked at himself in the mirror. And then he saw everything.

He saw Itachi's two fingers, now covered in their owner's blood, touching Sasuke's forehead as they always did when he was being childish.

He saw his brother's eyes, a Sharingan he didn't know about, and he _felt_ the genjutsu take over him.

Then he saw himself, replacing his own eyes with Itachi's in cold blood. He would had puked, screamed for him to stop, clawed, even kill himself but Itachi wasn't dead yet. He had to be in agonizing pain, he had to be so close to death…

But Itachi smiled, and used what chakra he had left to heal him. It wasn't anything near to what a medical shinobi could do, but it kept Sasuke's new eyes healthy. And only then, did his older brother die. And Sasuke hadn't even been aware of it. Now he stared at a mirror in his room, and a pair of eyes with three tomoe stared back at him. Those same eyes cried for the first time since having seen death, Itachi's death, by Sasuke's own hands.

* * *

Yes, Itachi is dead for good. Sasuke killed him and took his eyes, and Itachi himself placed the genjutsu on him. Who killed Itachi? Was it the masked man? Did I change who the masked man is? Fufufufufu, who knows? Meanwhile, poor poor Sasuke. Even the a-hole he turned into in the cannon doesn't deserve something like this. But oh well! It's all for a good storyline.

Sasuke: I will avenge him by killing you!

Me: You can't, I made you.

Sasuke: Then I will re-make myself and kill you!

Me: Riiiiiiiiiiight, and then you'll be Hokage?

Sasuke: I will be- YOU BASTARD!

Me: Stay tuned! More reviews = faster chapters, though I do promise to make them as fast as I can. Reviews will just help me get ideas faster. Till next time!

Sasuke: COME BACK HE- *chapter ends*


	2. Chapter 1: Meeting

Hello again! Yes, this was fast. No, I did not rush it. I've simply had this idea for quite a while now, so the start might be kind of easy for me to write. I still have a life though so I highly doubt this will keep going as quickly as this. Now enjoy, and don't let my quickness stop you from reviewing! VD signing out.

**Chapter 1: Meeting**  


Sasuke couldn't feel anything around him anymore. The mental images, the memory of his own hands tearing into Itachi's eye sockets forced him to his knees. Tears wouldn't stop coming out of his eyes, eyes he now knew belonged to his brother Itachi. His big brother was dead. He was living proof of it. He had been the killer, and Sasuke thought of punishing such an evil being. Hatred like nothing he had ever felt surged from within him, and a kunai found its place into his hand.

But he couldn't do it. Itachi's last words echoed in his mind, and he cried even harder at hearing them. This was too much. He was so close to cutting his own throat or piercing his heart with the ninja tool. Every part of him desperately asked for his own blood, but it wasn't his decision. Itachi had spoken, and after what seemed like an eternity the kunai fell to the ground.

_Flashback_

"_O-otouto…" Itachi wheezed out, blood dripping from his now-empty eye sockets as well as his chest. He didn't even have the strength to lift his own hand, something Sasuke himself did with a blank look in his eyes. Itachi soon remembered what he had done to his younger brother, the pain making him forget momentarily. But he fought through it, one last time, and smiled at his younger brother._

"_Live… Live for the… both of us… my foolish… little brother…"he spoke in a whisper, the green glow in his hands key to healing jutsu fading out. His head slid downwards, and nothing stopped its crash into the ground. Sasuke simply stared devoid of emotion, not even aware of what was going on. But even Itachi's genjutsu and Will of Fire couldn't stop a single tear coming out of Sasuke's lifeless eyes. The older brother died with a smile on his face, in the arms of a brother that didn't even realize what just happened._

_Flashback End_

Sasuke could only cry, as he ran those words in his head over and over again. There would be no escape in death, he knew. His sin was much too great for that. He had to live, his life was no longer his. He didn't have a right to such a thing, he didn't deserve to live. The boy knelt in the floor of his room for countless hours, crying and sobbing. At one point he trashed every single thing in it, starting with his mirror. The cuts from its shards didn't hurt him. Nothing did. He should be dead, but he wasn't. And the worst part was that he was already betraying his brother, again. He instinctively knew what his brother wanted for him. But he still wished he had never gotten those eyes.

The next day found him lying under covers that had miraculously survived his rampage. His bed's mattress had been torn here and there, but a kunai couldn't cut it all the way. He didn't feel very sore, but a part of his mind told him he was. He ignored it in favor of yawning and looking around at what he had done as if it was just the way it should had been.

Downstairs, he heard the first genin team arrive to do chores at the compound. The Hokage had ordered for Sasuke to be kept fed and taken care of, at least for a while. He had refused being treated as a child, but even he had to admit kitchen duties were not his specialty. The Uchiha's fortune was his to live off on, and though the Hokage himself stopped him from misusing it he could still use it for pretty much anything a civilian could ask for.

He didn't care for any of it. Happiness wouldn't come, but he would be better off with no one around him. No one needed him around, and he just wanted to be alone. 'To die alone' he thought morbidly, and there was no thought in his mind that said otherwise. But he knew he couldn't die just yet. Death was too good for him.

As he looked himself in the mirror, he debated whether to activate his new Sharingan. He hadn't seen it, not since the day earlier. The shattered pieces of the mirror could barely reflect anything now, but it was enough to catch a glimpse of his own eyes. There was a time when he would had given anything just to activate his Sharingan. It would had let him surpass Itachi, at least in some way. It would had made his father proud of him. It would had made him so happy…

He wiped tears away and cast away those thoughts. Nothing was the same anymore. He was unworthy of the Sharingan he possessed, and so he swore never to use it. "At least I won't soil your memory by mocking you, Niisan" he muttered while picking up his blindfold from the hospital. Sasuke put on his blindfold and tied it to the back of his skull firmly. He couldn't see a thing, and that wasn't something he was used to. 'But I'll get used to it' he swore in his mind, and tried to stumble to the door.

He must have crashed with every wall of his house, but finally made it outside to the grass. The boy, in his determination, had forgotten there was a genin team still in the compound and even forgot about his own breakfast. But it didn't matter to him as he stubbornly tried to find his way to the family dojo. He had to train, he had to become stronger. That was the only reason he had to live. He had to become as strong as his brother and take his place.

The training turned into an odyssey. Finding the dojo itself forced him to swallow his stubbornness and take off the blindfold. He had gone an entirely wrong way to it. The frustration nearly drove Sasuke to run head-first into a wall, but in what many would call "typical Uchiha fasion" he simply kept his cool and fumed on the inside. The dojo was just as he remembered it; Spartan-like in decoration, all the weapons neatly stored either inside cabinets or storage seals and a few targets here and there for kunai practice.

Sasuke was very angry at how it took him hours to reach it, but he didn't put much thought into it. He simply stepped in the middle of it and started his katas. Each of his stances weren't perfect, but he knew practice would make him a master of one of the most deadly taijutsu styles in Konoha. The Uchiha's Sharingan was no easy matchup for any close combat expect, as only the Hyuuga clan was known to evenly match or perhaps even surpass them in that area.

Eventually, he tired of repeating the same moves he had already practiced for years. He felt he needed something new, something much more powerful for him to train on. Still, there was no one he could ask for such a thing. All he had were the katas left in the Uchiha archive, and he knew everything there was too advanced for him. All he had was the Katon: Gokyako no Jutsu and that was pathetic in his eyes. Any other shinobi in the Uchiha clan could do more.

Feeling tired and frustrated beyond his limits, he finally let out a scream and rushed out of the dojo, and out of the compound. His feet took him everywhere in the village, with some people even recognizing him. They all knew about the tragedy, and whispered. But none would dare talk to him directly; such a thing was too rash so soon since the massacre. Eventually he arrived at the riverbed, walking next to it aimlessly. His eyes scanned his surroundings but he wasn't really looking. It was by chance he paid attention to a small pier, and he quickly sat on it.

Looking out at the river, he sighed and hung his head back. There was a cool breeze blowing that kept him from feeling too warm, and he soon hugged himself to not feel cold. Or so he told himself. He was holding back tears again. They were forming all around his eyes, and he knew they'd soon start falling on his shirt. He hated how the moist shirt felt against his neck, as if he'd drooled on himself. But Sasuke couldn't bring himself to care about something like that.

He was weak. He was so weak, a mere genjutsu made him kill his brother in cold blood. What kind of person would let something like that happen? He was an Uchiha, yet he killed his own brother! He was no different from whatever masked man killed the rest of his clan. 'But Itachi made me do it…' a part of his mind said, and the endless crying started. The memories just didn't stop tormenting him, as if the breeze had turned into a hurricane.

In the middle of it all, he again remembered Itachi's words. It was as if he had been slapped, and Sasuke quickly stood up. "I'm just wasting the life I must live for us!" he yelled to himself, even though he started crying harder. The boy pulled out kunais from his pouch, but the tears had made his sight much too blurry. He threw the kunais while trying to hit random targets: that blade of grass over there, that rock, that orange mop – wait, orange mop about 4 inches tall or more? The kunais missed the target, who yelped and jumped in surprise. The "mop" then glared at Sasuke and pointed a finger at him.

"Hey, what's the big idea huh? What the hell you throwing kunais at me for?" said an obnoxious voice coming from an orange-wearing blond boy.

"Hn, I missed so you're alright" Sasuke grunted, trying to hide long enough to hide all traces of his tears.

"You bastard! You coulda killed me and all you say is I'm alright 'cause you missed?" the blond boy continued, his face growing red by the second. Sasuke was about done cleaning up however, and half turned at him so he only showed his right shoulder.

"At least you didn't die right? What more do you want from me?" the Uchiha asked with a level voice, still a bit broken from his crying earlier.

"Well I want an apology! You gotta make it up to me too!" the blond said.

Sasuke nodded and turned to him completely. "Very well, what do you want?" he asked, staring at the blond in his eyes. The obnoxious boy blinked in surprise, not expecting the other boy to give it up so easily.

"You… you really mean that? You'll make it up to me? For serious?" he asked, not able to keep any excitement out of his voice.

"Yeah, whatever. What's your name anyway?" he asked, wanting to get rid of this kid as quickly as possible but not able to simply go away and leave himself in debt to him. The blond gave him a toothy grin and made a silly superhero pose.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, nice to meet ya dattebayo!" he said with such a high pitch voice, Sasuke instantly regretted asking.

"Uchiha Sasuke" the raven haired boy said and extended his hand almost automatically. He regretted it when he thought about it, but by then the blond had shaken it and was now dragging him off into the heart of the village.

"C'mon, you got money right? I know how you can make it up to me!" he said with a boisterous voice while Sasuke was almost literally being dragged by the shirt. 'Who the hell does he think he is?' said Sasuke whose scowl was already a mile long. He roughly pulled his shirt out of Naruto's grip and made the blond look at him in confusion.

"Don't pull on my shirt like that!" said Sasuke, an icy glare directed at the other boy who flinched then grinned nervously.

"Ahh, sorry sorry! I just got overexcited, that's all" Naruto said while scratching the back of his head sheepishly. There was no trace of deceit in him however, and Sasuke let it go (though not without a huge scowl staying in his face). The two made their way to a ramen stand just at front of the Hokage Tower, the smell of delicious noodles making Naruto drool harder the closer they got.

"Ahh, Naruto! You brought a friend today? That's so nice of you!" greeted an old-looking man that looked like a chef, smelled like a chef and acted like the chef. As if that wasn't obvious enough, Naruto grinned at him and then at Sasuke.

"Hehe, this old man Teuchi is Ichiraku Ramen's one and only chef! I swear, this ramen has to be a gift from Kami himself!" Naruto explained, completely overlooking the fact Sasuke flinched when Teuchi called him a friend of Naruto's. The old man did notice however, and he looked slightly wary of the raven hair while talking again.

"You always say that kid, now what will you two order? Uchiha-san is ordering, right?" he asked while already moving around the pots and frying pans in the kitchen to prepare the delicious ramen.

"Oh yeah he's paying. And give me one of everything!" Naruto said without an ounce of shame or restraint, making Sasuke sweatdrop and Teuchi chuckle.

"I see, so he's treating you" the man said while silently regretting being wary of the boy. Anyone willing to treat Naruto to a meal deserved their own piece of Heaven just for that.

"Yep! Uhh, what are you getting Sasuke?" the blond said while looking at the other boy curiously. Sasuke had been observing both the old man and the absolutely loud blond while trying to figure out just what kind of mess he had gotten into. Being caught with a question, he quickly said the first cool thing that came to mind.

"What he's having" he answered while pointing a thumb at Naruto, who grinned from ear to ear. It was the same grin Teuchi had as soon his hands were barely visible.

"Coming right up!" the chef said while Sasuke actually felt tempted to use his Sharingan just to keep up with the old man's movements. A pang of shame shot that idea down, and he quickly looked to the side in case his face showed anything else. However, it was too late as one curious blond had noticed something off.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked as he edged a bit closer to the raven-haired boy.

"Hn" was Sasuke's non-committal response, but would be forced to say more had the ramen not arrived just there and then. It was like Christmas came early for the blond as he dug in with gusto, ignoring everything and everyone around him. That included a certain flabbergasted Sasuke who didn't think Naruto had ordered that much.

"Here you go kids! Dig in, I'll bring the other plates once you're finished with those" said Teuchi and Sasuke felt like burying his head into the counter.

'There's no way I can eat all of this…' Sasuke thought while looking at all the bowls at front of him. Looking at his side didn't help, as Naruto put down bowl after bowl after bowl. But that sight stirred something within him. The blond stopped eating just for a moment and glanced at Sasuke.

"Oi, you're not gonna let good ramen go to waste right? Don't worry, if ya can't eat it all I'll do it for ya" he said with a grin, then continued eating. A tick mark appeared on Sasuke's forehead as he stared down at his own row of bowls to eat.

'So, this is how it is…' the raven haired boy thought as he took his first bite, and then another. Then another. He really liked it! But that wasn't all. With determination set in his eyes, he started eating faster and faster until he picked up on Naruto's speed.

Teuchi could only watch with wide eyes as the seemingly squeamish Uchiha looked ready to hurl at first, then started to put down bowls so fast he was giving Naruto a run for his money. Then something incredible happened; Sasuke started going _faster_ than Naruto.

Ayame chose this moment to arrive with groceries, and the sight made her drop them in astonishment. "N-no way… He's going faster than Naruto?" she said with a mixture of amazement and glee. Her eyes slowly turned into money signs and his father sighed, but secretly agreeing heavily with his daughter. 'These two might just make me a millionaire' he thought while imagining mountains of ryo covering him and Ayame.

By now, Naruto had noticed how Sasuke was taking it as a competition and smirked. 'No one takes on the great Uzumaki in an eating contest!' he thought with determination and his speed picked up with Sasuke's. The two ate as fast as Teuchi could put bowls at front of him, and he took to give them food only when he had enough for both of them. They were at a draw so far, but eventually Sasuke nearly fell forward into a bowl of pork ramen and Naruto yawned but held himself straight, making him the victor.

"Why did I even do this…" said Sasuke through bubbles in his soup, more than half of his face covered in noodles. Naruto flashed him a grin and patted his belly, now full without the shadow of a doubt. Maybe.

"Don't feel down, nobody beats me in a ramen eating contest!" Naruto said boisterously which earned him a glare from the Uchiha and a giggle from the girl behind the counter. "Ayame-neechan! When did you get here?" he exclaimed, to which she suddenly stopped giggling and sweatdropped.

'It's like they're in their own world when they eat…' she realized, but quickly shook off the surprise and smiled warmly at them. "A while ago. Who's your new friend Naruto?" she asked, her eyes already looking Sasuke over.

"Oh, he's Uchiha Sasuke and he's paying for the meal" the blond said with a toothy grin and Sasuke could only sigh. He had a rough idea on how much this would cost, but it was within what the Uchiha fortune would pay for him. It's not like money mattered to him anyways.

"Hn" he said, already cleaned up from the mess with the soup. The boy didn't feel like refuting what Naruto said. He just didn't have the strength to bother, to tell them he didn't have friends and didn't plan on having them. That he couldn't take having anyone close to him ever again.

The raven haired boy managed to escape the store with just a few waves of goodbye and courtesy. He hadn't particularly liked how the store owner's daughter looked at him either. It felt weird, but he didn't have words for it. But Naruto had followed him, saying something about Sasuke doing a lot for him so the least the blond could do was seeing him to his house. The Uchiha felt gravely insulted, but he just couldn't bring himself to care.

"Woooooow, you live in a place like this? It's huge!" Naruto exclaimed while looking around. The Uchiha compound was not absent of beauty, even if the disrepair from the massacre was already obvious in the streets. Sasuke walked through it all in silence, then turned around when he reached his house's door.

"Alright, you got me here. Now leave" he said, looking directly at the blond who recoiled at the tone.

"Okay okay! Deal's a deal, you made up with me. Jeesh, no need to be a stuck in the mud" Naruto said, but was already turning to leave. He didn't go all the way though, before turning and locking eyes with Sasuke. "You're an okay guy to me, so I think you're my friend. Later friend!" he said and waved, then ran out of the compound. Sasuke was left speechless for a while before balling his hands into fists and shaking his head angrily. Whoever Naruto was, he didn't deserve a friend such as him.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

I did say the start will be character development... I think that's how Naruto was as a child. He clams down on Jiraiya but he was the same but in chibi version. And minus the manlihood xD Anyways, Sasuke wasn't nearly as prideful about being an Uchiha and so superior that he had to look down on Naruto. He feels as the worst monster in the world. Sure that doesn't mean they'll be all friends and cuddly right away, or ever, but it will greatly change the rivalry they had in cannon. Sasuke kept his cool there because he could focus all his hatred towards Itachi. Now, all that hate is going against himself. But Itachi's words forbid him to die... And things become so much harder for him to deal with. Anyways, hope you enjoyed! I can't stress enough the need for reviews. Although I cannot promise that I will change my writing ways to please each and every single one of you (you can't please them all people, and I need to keep my style here xD) your opinions matter and can help me improve. I'm a reader first and writer second. So I do learn from things y'all write, and that means I can write better stuff for people to read. Giving and taking, get it right? Right? OKAY! NOW BRING ON THE HATE!


	3. Chapter 2: Escape from the Compound

I forgot to mention in the first two episodes, but I am the proud owner of Naru- oh wait, no I'm not. Sad face :(

**Chapter 2: Escape from the Compound**

Sasuke woke up in the dojo the next day, having literally trained himself into sleep. He let out a groan and sat up, his blindfolds stopping the light from entering his eyes. His muscles twitched in different levels of pain, and he had to roll his shoulders just to get some feeling in them. "Need to bring a futon next time" he muttered before mentally cursing himself; what he needed was to adjust to sleeping in hard surfaces, he was training to be a ninja! Gritting his teeth at his own childishness, he stood up and took the blindfolds off. With his eyes closed, he tried to sense his surroundings as many books said sensor ninja did. Nothing out of a few birds chirping and the sound of running water from a fountain came up, and he sighed in frustration.

Making his way back to the house, the Uchiha tried but failed to stop thinking about the day before. His breakfast was already prepared; the genin team that came around must have had a good cook he admitted, but he also knew he couldn't grow used to it. He only had a month of such help to his own person, until he was supposed to take care of himself. The Hokage himself had suggested a legal guardian, but even from a hospital bed Sasuke's glare was powerful enough to shoot that down. No, there would be no legal guardian. What he discovered didn't help him accept the idea either.

His day went rather slow; he didn't move anywhere outside either the house or the dojo. At the dojo, he would train until his muscles were too tired to move. Then he rested, and practiced his sensing. He had no idea what he was supposed to do, so he simply tried to listen to everything while the blindfolds covered his eyes.

There wasn't much to listen to, as the compound was virtually devoid of life. That is, until he heard a certain "clicks" coming from the roof. Sasuke rose an eyebrow; they couldn't be rain drops, and the roof tiles wouldn't sound like that even from a strong wind. He didn't have to wonder about it too much though, as a piece of the roof suddenly broke and an orange blur fell from it, crashing into the ground.

"Waaaah-PUFF!" Naruto screamed as he fell and slammed himself against the dojo's floor. He was covered in dust and even a couple of roof tiles. The blond gingerly stood up and shook off all the dirt on his clothes, then faced the glare of one very angry Uchiha Sasuke who seemed to be debating on how painfully to kill the intruder.

"What-How-Why the hell did you crash through my roof?" said Sasuke who had taken his blindfolds off the moment he fell the crash.

"Uhhh, I didn't want that to happen, honest!" Naruto exclaimed while holding his hands at front of him. It only made a tick mark appear on the Uchiha's forehead as one of his eyebrows quivered in anger.

"What are you even doing inside the compound…" he asked in a dangerously low voice that made Naruto gulp.

"Just wanted to hang out with you that's all!" the blond answered quickly while taking one step back and looking around. Sasuke wanted to hurt him, he really did, but those words made him stop and look at him carefully. He didn't feel Naruto was lying to him; in fact, just looking into his blue orbs nearly convinced him he was being honest right away.

"I see…" Sasuke said, looking at Naruto emotionlessly. The blond didn't know if this was better or worse than the Uchiha's glare and sweat started to cover his forehead. After a few tense seconds, Sasuke relaxed his posture and Naruto let out a breath of relief.

"Hehe, so uhh, wanna go play or something? I know lots of places-" Naruto started to speak until he had to jump back to dodge a sudden punch from Sasuke. "What the hell?" he exclaimed as the Uchiha lazily followed with another punch.

"We're in a dojo Naruto, so if you want to… hang out… with me, you'll have to fight" he said, an evil glint now in his eyes. Naruto's eyes widened as he recognized a prank when he saw one and barely dodged another punch.

"H-hey, that's not fair! What the heck kind of hanging out is this?" he exclaimed as he ran around the dojo while dodging Sasuke's lazy punches.

"What, never heard of training?" Sasuke answered with a smirk and stopped throwing punches, putting a hand on his hip and looking at Naruto with a mocking air around him.

Naruto looked at him surprised for a moment; he couldn't decide whether Sasuke was being hostile or friendly. But he smiled eventually, which turned into a smirk at the Uchiha as he moved into a stance of his own. "Training huh? You just want me to kick your ass!" the blond exclaimed as he dashed forward and put all his weight into a punch.

Sasuke grunted and simply let him pass him by, something Naruto couldn't correct as he crashed face-first into the ground because of his own momentum. "Hn, you suck" the Uchiha commented as the blond hurriedly stood up again.

"Hey, I was this close to hitting ya dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed heatedly while holding a fist up. Sasuke chuckled and went into a loose stance while looking at him calmly.

"Wrong. Also, what does dattebayo mean?" the Uchiha asked while raising his eyebrow, earning a scowl from Naruto.

"Shut up!" said Naruto between embarrassed and angry while throwing a punch. The Uchiha easily dodged every punch and kick Naruto sent at him, but after a minute of it he felt something was wrong. He himself, although tired, was well trained and could keep going for quite a long time in such an easy fight. But Naruto was giving it all he had, doing a really bad job at it, and he wasn't even sweating!

"Shouldn't you be tired of playing around or something?" Sasuke said, trying to goad Naruto into showing his secrets. He either had to be a better fighter than he looked or he had been trained, there was no other option in his mind. But Naruto simply grinned and kept his clumsy barrage of fists and kicks that didn't even come close to hitting Sasuke.

"I've fought for way longer than this!" the blond exclaimed and again rushed at Sasuke, trying to pin him to the ground. Sasuke met him with a knee straight to his nose that made the blond stagger back in recoil. Without giving him a break the Uchiha dropped to the ground and swept at Naruto's legs, making the boy fall to the ground flat on his ass. "Owww! How'd you do that?" the blond asked a smirking Sasuke while rubbing his bottom to get some feeling in it again.

"I'm an Uchiha, we are bred for combat" Sasuke replied with an amused tone, as if the question was a stupid one.

"Yeah, well I can still kick your ass" Naruto replied while standing up, some dirt here and there on his clothes but otherwise unscathed. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and drew a kunai while staring intensely at the blond.

"I could had drawn this and killed you Naruto. You lost this first fight" he stated to a scowling Naruto.

"Yeah yeah whatever, but kunai or not I can still kick your ass!" he crossed his arms and looked away, obviously not about to give up on his argument. Sasuke snorted, which earned him a glare from the blond. "What's so funny?" he demanded with a voice that could have been threatening if he wasn't a child.

Sasuke felt like laughing at his face, but instead he chuckled before explaining. "Maybe you can outlast me, but I'm a much better fighter than you Naruto. I have my own style, and you're just throwing punches to see if you're lucky to hit me. What type of fights you have anyway?" he asked, already knowing the most likely answer. The Military Police was certainly no stranger to breaking up brawls, and Konoha was too big for a single police corps to stop each and every one of the underground fighting groups. And that was before they – well, the massacre.

Naruto kept looking away, but his body passed from showing stubborn determination to slumped defeat. "Just thugs… and stuff…" he said in a low tone, clearly not wanting to answer. Sasuke rose an eyebrow and tilted his head in curiosity.

"Brawls, huh. No wonder you don't have a style…" he said which made Naruto glare at him again.

"My style is kicking your ass!" he said while stomping on the ground. Sasuke chuckled again which only made Naruto angrier.

"If we keep practicing, you could at least learn some taijutsu. Err, do you know what taijutsu is?" Sasuke asked him, and it seemed like Naruto's anger evaporated.

"Hell yeah I know! One day I'll learn all about taijutsu, and ninjutsu, and genjutsu, and then I'll become Hokage!" he exclaimed and grinned, obviously happy to reveal his goal. Sasuke just stared at him blankly, which unnerved the blond after a few seconds. "Uhh, do I have something on my face?" Naruto asked him while tilting his head to a side, studying the raven haired boy with a curious expression. The Uchiha suddenly burst into laughter which confused the blond even more. "Hey you bastard, if I do have something on my face then just say it, don't just laugh at it!" he said with a tick mark appearing on his forehead.

Sasuke stopped laughing and looked at Naruto curiously, wondering if the blond was serious. "I thought you were joking about being Hokage" he said and rolled his eyes. It seemed like a funny joke coming from Naruto, though now the boy's blue eyed glare and determined face made him think otherwise.

"Believe it you bastard, I'll be Hokage one day! And then I'm gonna be stronger than you!" Naruto declared while pointing at Sasuke, who didn't know whether to laugh again or punch him to a wall.

After a second or two, Sasuke snorted but looked at him with an equally determined expression. 'I need to be stronger than you' was what Sasuke wanted to say, but he refused to say something like that to anyone other than himself. "I'm always gonna be stronger than you" he declared, with such intensity that Naruto took a step back. Sasuke had a moment of panic at seeing his friend back down from him like that, but the blond grinned and clenched his fist, then stuck it out at front of himself.

"Oh yeah? Well I'm gonna make you eat those words, then I'll be stronger than you, and then I'll become Hokage dattebayo!" the blond declared and then let out a cheery chuckle.

"…And then you'll tell me what the hell dattebayo means?" asked Sasuke with a grin of his own.

"Shut up teme! That was badass and you know it!" said Naruto while crossing his arms, but still grinning.

"Hn, maybe it was" Sasuke replied while shrugging, finally making Naruto scowl.

"That's it, I'm gonna beat you up one of these days! Believe it dattebayo!" the blond declared and charged at Sasuke, who sidestepped him and blocked every punch Naruto threw at him with a smirk on his face.

Evening came for both boys, one of them lying on the ground and looking up, while the other sat next to him and sobbed at his many bruises. Eventually Naruto stopped sobbing and looked at his new friend, who was trying and failing to keep his breathing steady. The fight had taken for too long, and while Naruto was all banged up Sasuke was completely spent. The Uchiha felt his muscles protest even from his breathing, and he didn't think he could move much without collapsing. All the while, he wondered how the blond did it. Even with his superior training, Naruto simply had more stamina. And by the looks of it, not by a short amount.

What was worse, the blond came every day to the dojo! Once there, only one thing happened: they trashed talk each other while punching one another to oblivion. Sasuke couldn't help but think that it was fun. He grudgingly admitted, and not without flashbacks of pain and sorrow, that no other Uchiha boy actually fought him like Naruto did. Wild as he was, the blond simply didn't give up and he was actually learning to abuse his higher stamina and endurance. Every punch Naruto took was given back, maybe not as strong or fast as Sasuke's but eventually it was the Uchiha that was pushed back. Neither one could understand it, and it frustrated Sasuke to no end.

And it was because of this that one day, after Naruto had left whistling as if he hadn't had the crap beaten out of him, that Sasuke decided to leave this place. The boy groggily stood up; he had taken a beating, and his stomach felt like he hadn't eaten in days. But he knew that staying there meant another training day with Naruto. He couldn't get much stronger that way, and the blond's company unnerved him. There was something about him that made him too friendly, and Sasuke almost hated it. Almost.

He just needed to be out of that house, of the dojo, of the whole compound, out and somewhere the blond couldn't follow him. Looking around, there were only dark alleys and stores to hide in. He stood at the compound's entrance contemplating this, and then simply walked aimlessly through the streets. The hope of somewhere to hide lead him to an iron gate to what appeared to be a forest. 'A forest inside Konoha, he can't find me here' Sasuke thought with a weak smirk as he climbed his way over the fence. It wasn't easy, but his kunai made short work of the barbed wire and he landed safely on the other side.

The forest felt wet to Sasuke's skin, as if there was a never ending rain. But rain was much cooler and didn't make his clothes stick to him like this, and there were many times he had to swipe sweat off his forehead as it wouldn't evaporate on his own. The heat was all-consuming, and he felt like lifting a ton of bricks every time he gave a step. Eventually, he couldn't take it and sat down under a tree. That was his last mistake of the day, as his eyes closed in sleep and a pair of yellow eyes, like those of a snake, suddenly opened and locked in on the boy.

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Author's Note: (that's me in case you're wondering)

I must thank Suza-sama for working with me as my beta reader! This means I'll be having extra help from now on, at least until Suza-sama finally changes the world and becomes Zero or until I'm too annoying. Either way, until next time!


	4. Chapter 3: Forests and Snakes

I hope you guys didn't mistakenly think I was bringing Orochimaru early into the story... Just kidding! I'd love it if you did. But nope. He's not showing up this early. And trust me, NOBODY wants me to bring him up anytime soon. Anyways, enjoy the entrance of mine and Kishimoto's favorite snake mistress while I go buy the right to own Naruto with my pennies. I have lots of pennies. Maybe enough to buy Naruto. We shall see. Meanwhile, I don't own him and go check out Naruto Gaiden if you've been keeping up with the manga!

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**Chapter 3: Forests and Snakes**

Mitarashi Anko was, by definition, not a happy person. She was either scary cheery, or creepy; people knew her for this, and that's if you're not looking at her miniskirt and mesh body suit with nothing underneath. That calls people's attention too, but mostly her scariness did. She loved noticing people catching sight of her dubbed "ninja suit" though. By the time she drew someone's blood it was too late to look away, and the fear in people's eyes was priceless for her.

This, however, was appearances. People knew her for being Orochimaru's lackey once upon a time, and she hated being known for that. Why no one knew her as the sexiest kunoichi to ever live or be alive was to her great frustration but she'd fix that, one nosebleed at a time. She wasn't provoking any nosebleeds in the Forest of Death however. Everyone knew what she went there to do; such intense training that only the Hokage would dare train along with her. And even he was smart enough to stay away from such a thing when he had the choice to.

But today, her snakes sensed someone entering the Forest. Anko scowled as she remembered all the academy students and ninja wannabes that enter the Forest of Death thinking it's some kind of cool adventure for ninjas like them. It made her want to bite into their brains and pour acid into them, but it would take too long for their bodies to dissolve and surely they'd be found before that… No, Anko didn't kill them but she did scare them away each and every time. There was no hesitation when she stopped training and rushed to where the intruder was, her mind racing with things she would do once she caught it. For her, whoever was it was now an it, a prey. She licked her lips in anticipation and used her stealth once she was close enough.

She did not expect a boy sleeping peacefully while one of her snakes slithered around him, however. How someone could get himself into a forest dubbed "death" and still sleep that soundly was almost surprising to her. Almost. Her amusement won and she chuckled darkly, then stopped herself abruptly. 'That sounds too much like Orochimaru' she thought and forced herself to think of other things. She brightened up at thinking of how to scare the boy shitless. 'Hmm, if he thinks he can sleep easy here then he can surely survive a rude awakening' she decided in her mind and gave an order to her snake, then jumped away. Seconds later, the snake vanished only to come back after a few minutes with a wild tiger after it. Its roar woke up a startled Sasuke, who panicked for a second before running away as if his life depended on it. Because it did.

Sasuke had no idea where he was, only that it was some kind of forest. He had fallen asleep without even noticing, and now only what little training he had in shinobi senses allowed him to react that quickly to a tiger trying to eat him. The beast was fast, but the boy was just slightly faster. Sasuke knew he was still tired, but the adrenaline in him kept him running far past his limit. Just when the tiger seemed to have him the boy ducked and leapt to the side, and the beast crashed head-first into a robust tree. Its skull didn't even do a dent, and the tiger slumped unconsciously to the ground.

The Uchiha would have given himself a pat on the back for it, but something was amiss. It was as if his senses were screaming something at him, but he couldn't figure out what. His hesitation left him defenseless against the snake that suddenly pounced on him and sunk its fangs on his arm, pouring untold amounts of venom into his veins. Sasuke could only yank it out of his arm and scream in pain as the venom ran through his bloodstream with no mercy. It was as if his own blood was turning into fire and burning him alive from the inside, and the pain brought him crying to his knees.

"Hmm, I wonder if I went too far… Nah," Anko mumbled to herself and leapt silently to the boy's back. To Sasuke's credit and Anko's dismay, he heard her and drew a kunai to hold between them. The snake princess didn't think a runt like him would ever hear the likes of her coming, so she made a mental note to use more stealth next time. Meanwhile, he looked the boy up and down; he had Uchiha clothes, the Uchiha logo on his shirt and the trademark Uchiha hair. It didn't take a genius to know who he was, and even then she was such genius. That left one big question though.

"What the hell is the Uchiha runt doing here?" she asked the boy, ignoring the pain clearly visible on his face. Seeing he was gritting his teeth too hard to speak, she shrugged and continued talking. "Well, it doesn't really matter. You got bit by my snake you see, so if you wanna live you'll agree to do anything I say and then I'll cure you. Nod once if you accept." she said while playing with a senbon that, unbeknownst to Sasuke, had the cure to her poison.

Sasuke, however, looked at her defiantly. She chuckled and stopped playing with the senbon, then turned serious and looked at him as intensely as she could. "Look, brat, I'm not playing. Accept doing whatever I want or I'll let the poison kill you" she threatened with ice in her voice.

For a moment, the Uchiha didn't move. Anko thought he would finally give in, and when he started coughing up blood she could sense his surrender coming. But the words that came from his mouth were a complete shock to her.

"I-I won't… do your will… Father… I will follow… Itachi's words…" he spoke with such iron in his voice that Anko felt challenged. He was obviously delirious, but there was no mistake that he understood her every word. But he still chose to die rather than to give in.

"You've got some balls kid," she muttered as Sasuke coughed more blood. He didn't even feel a slight prick on his arm, right next to his snake bite. He didn't feel pain as he passed out and fell into Anko's arms as if he was a sack of potatoes. The almost-jounin sighed as she was about to carry him out of the Forest, mentally wondering how the hell he was going to explain this to the Hokage. She didn't care how the people at the hospital would take it, but the old man could be scary when he wanted to be.

However she thought better of it, and laid him on a bunch of leaves to rest. She wasn't a fan of hospitals, and hell if he was. Anko sat next to him and studied the boy closer; he had bruises all over his arms, some of them only being possible after getting punched. She didn't know who would punch the Uchiha, but she'd find out. Waiting for him to wake up and telling her would be her first option, though.

When Sasuke opened his eyes, he immediately thought of running away. His body was too weak though, and all he managed was to feel like his ribs had broken. After he could breathe again, he heard a woman's laughter coming from right next to him.

"Need some help there to get up trooper?" she said between laughs, while Sasuke just stared at her as if she was crazy. She then noticed the boy wouldn't get the joke and shrugged. "Don't try getting up so quickly again, you'll break something." she commented and looked down to pet a snake she had on her lap.

Sasuke had too much on his mind to think on who the woman was. He didn't even focus on what she was saying. Instead, his mind was on what he had seen before passing out from the venom. Now that he could think clearly he knew his father hadn't been there in the forest and told him that. It must have been the woman he concluded, but he couldn't be sure. He had meant what he said however, even if it had been his real father.

"Who are you" Sasuke demanded, his voice sounding slightly hoarse as if just waking up. Anko didn't look his way or stop petting her snake, but she still answered.

"Name's Anko and I'm the sexiest kunoichi in existence!" she replied, sounding both cheery and amused with herself at the same time.

"Hn." was Sasuke's sole reply, and he slowly tried standing up. Now that got a reaction out of Anko, whose forehead gained a tick mark as she stood up and towered over him.

"You should show more appreciation for meeting me brat, I saved you after all." she spat out while holding her hands on her hips.

"Hn." Sasuke repeated while ignoring her completely. He was suddenly tied up to a tree by Anko's snake as its owner glared at the Uchiha.

"You wanna die runt?"

"No…"

"You seem to have a death wish"

"I don't"

"Then where's your appreciation?"

"Thanks."

"Just that? Wow, didn't know the Uchihas were so cheap"

And at this Sasuke glared at Anko so intensely she swore she saw a glimpse of red. She didn't back down though, quite the opposite; she got right in his face with a mocking smirk, that pissed Sasuke off to no end.

"Oooooh, touched a nerve. Wanna know what else I can touch?" she said in an obviously fake sweet voice, a kunai in her hand tracing Sasuke's cheek. He was stuck to the tree, forgetting to even breathe as Anko appeared to decide where to cut with her kunai. It was suddenly pressed to his jugular as the snake vixen suddenly scowled.

"That poison could've killed you, and I can rip your neck open and kill you now. You have a fucking death wish, don't you dare contradict me" she spat while noticing Sasuke didn't even squirm. She moved the kunai back just enough so he could speak, but he could still feel its sharpness as if it was just waiting to slash into him.

"I don't wish to die. I simply stand by what I said" he stated with firmness that Anko knew it was true. Being in the T&amp;I department requires such an ability, and she was _good _at it. But she didn't understand how he would die for such a stupid reason. Still, Anko ordered the snake to disappear with a flicker of her wrist and Sasuke stepped forward, now free of his binds.

"Alright then. But you wasted my training time. You'll have to pay me back by becoming my pin cushion" she said as if she was talking about the weather. Sasuke swore she was crazy, and if she hadn't insulted the Uchiha he would be running away as all hell right now. But she had been right; he was cheap in his appreciation for her help. Even if she had been the one to poison him.

"I apologize. I'll pay back for it somehow" he said, trying to ignore her comment of making him a pin cushion. He hoped to Kami she was kidding. He was wrong.

"Alrighty then, go home and I'll pick you up whenever I want!" she said, suddenly grinning as if she was the happiest girl in the world. She was crazy, Sasuke swore in his head. That didn't mean he'd say it out loud though. With what he thought was a courteous nod, and she saw as a scared-shitless nod, Sasuke turned around and nearly ran out of the forest without hesitation.

When the secretary saw Anko, the kunoichi was already opening the door to the Hokage's office. The woman thought of stopping her, but her memories strongly suggested otherwise. The tokubetsu jounin walked into his office like it was her own room as the man looked up from his paperwork and smiled warmly at her.

"Good evening Anko, have you come to visit?" he asked her, mentally thanking her a million times for both the great view and the break from paperwork, his eternal nemesis.

"Nope, we gotta talk about the Uchiha kid" she said nonchalantly while taking a seat and hanging her feet on the desk. It was so incredibly difficult for the Hokage not to look at their origin that he didn't even try to resist. A senbon stuck itself in his hat just as his eyes were getting to the good part, and with incredible sleight of hand he hid it away while regaining his composure.

"Of course. Is it you've found interest in him?" he asked, secretly wondering whether Anko would ever settle down. He only knew rumors and knew they could be wrong, but if they were true then he was truly slightly worried for her. He hoped better of her, and was one of the only ones to truly do so.

"Bah, he's just a brat. Found him at the forest though" she said while picking her nails with a senbon. Hiruzen almost jumped forward, but instead he took on his Hokage face and stared at Anko impassively.

"Tell me what happened, in detail" he ordered with a tone that didn't admit jokes or objections.

"I'd like to know them myself, but the kid seemed to be hiding from someone that punched him quite bad. He didn't seem bullied, and he's strong-willed. I had a tiger run after him-" she didn't even pause at the Hokage's glare "-and then one of my snakes bit him. I told him to do what I say or die, but he had a hallucination and thought I was his father. He rejected me and fell unconscious. Didn't even try looking under my skirt too…" she spoke and then trailed off as the Hokage processed the information. Knowledge on the last Uchiha was sketchy for everyone, and only he and the boy's doctor knew all the details. Taking a puff from his pipe, he held his hand up to stop Anko from talking as he himself got ready to speak.

"I've heard enough. He isn't suicidal as far as this shows, but he needs closer watch indeed. Do you wish to provide it?" he said while pinning his eyes on hers.

"Huh? Do I look like a day care to you old man?" she asked while nearly standing up from her seat. He chuckled and motioned for her to calm down, then turned serious again.

"I have a hunch those punches you saw were from Naruto. They've been sparring with each other for a while now, so you were right about it not being bullying. Naruto's hardly the bullying type. But those are just spars. He's training by himself… So I'd like for you to train him" he said, preparing himself for shouting and fighting.

After a minute of insults and shouting flying around the office, they both calmed down and Anko was just about to leave. But a thought crossed her mind and she turned around, looking at the Hokage. "Something I remembered, he said he would follow Itachi's words and no one else's. Could there have been parting words between them?" she said and the Hokage thought about it for a moment.

"Yes, there were parting words. It seems our young Sasuke has a strong sense of duty to living on for his brother. By strong, I suspect an obsession. I am no psychologist Anko, but I am old. I've seen men like him, they drive themselves too hard in the name of the fallen but end up falling themselves. You've seen Kakashi at his worst, you can certainly handle Sasuke. Good luck Anko" he said, and that ended their conversation. Anko nodded absent-mindedly and walked out of the office with much to think about. The Hokage sighed and massaged his temple, then continued his paperwork. And Konoha remained quiet… except for a few jounin and a pissed-off scarred chuunin running after a laughing blond.

The next day saw one Mitarashi Anko standing on a very particular ceiling. Sasuke almost couldn't had been more surprised in his life as he stared at the kunoichi using his roof as her floor. Her grin didn't go away even as a pillow flew right into it, but her entire body poofed and turned into a lamp. The real Anko grabbed Sasuke in a flash and jumped out of the window cackling like a maniac. Or as people said in Konoha, she cackled like Anko. Because if there was one way she made the village know her for, was for her insane laughs that promised blood would be drawn or was being drawn already.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

BIG THANK YOU to Suzu for staying with me as BR and helping me out. Seriously, you rock! And you're as harsh as I need, so hopefully this fanfic comes out that much better. Can't stress how thankful I am for your help.

Just to clear this up: training someone DOES NOT MEAN he or she becomes your apprentice. Sasuke is a 9-year old kid who can barely use the Great Fireball technique that, although very powerful and already needing elemental chakra, is the most basic jutsu an Uchiha is taught to perform. Use it as one of the hints that Sasuke is a prodigy, but you can't use it to argue that Sasuke can be a full-fledged ninja with only this. What does this all mean? Sasuke wouldn't even pass the Academy exam right now, so he is NOT even genin-level in terms of overall skill. There's certain things that age simply doesn't allow anyone to learn or understand. I hope this explanation helps you readers accept Sasuke's entrance to the Academy despite being trained by Anko herself since the age of 9. Also, apprentices are all genin-level or above.

PS: I'm not going to make omakes for every chapter, but I might do one every now and then. If you want, you may write your ideas for them in your reviews and I might even make it into an omake! Because everyone reading this will surely leave a review... right? Right guys? Guys? Is anyone even reading this?

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SPOILER ALERT:

Okay, so is Naruto's son called Boruto or Bolt? They both sound similar, but I'm curious about the truth here. And Naruto did NOT play Hide-N-Seek when he was a child, that was more like Hide and hope it's Iruka that finds Naruto instead of the angry jounin that would beat him up or something. Speaks of how Shikamaru and the rest of Konoha still don't understand Naruto and his past.


	5. Chapter 4: The Academy

I'M ALIVE! Yes, indeed I live! And I'm a butt, I know... No excusing being absent for this long so I'll just get right back to work and save you guys the drama. Needless to say, I didn't expect to be absent for so long nor do I expect it to happen again. For what it's worth, my apologies to those I've made wait. Here's Chapter 4, hope you enjoy it, review as you guys always do and expect the next one in a MUCH shorter time than this one! I'll make this up to y'all, that I promise.

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**Chapter 4: The Academy**

Naruto never told him, but he felt weirded out every time he entered Sasuke's dojo and saw the raven-haired boy sitting with his legs folded in deep meditation. To him it was unnatural for anyone to be staying so still. Why would Sasuke do that anyways? Every time he asked, the Uchiha shrugged and said it was "training that crazy snake bitch told me to do," and so Naruto stopped asking after a few tries. Who was this snake bitch Sasuke talked about? The blond didn't know, and curiosity was killing him after a few weeks.

And so it was that Naruto kept going to Sasuke's dojo and sparred with the boy, while at the same time tried figuring out the mystery of this Uchiha boy. Sasuke had warned him against following his steps to the forest, convincing Naruto that the risk of finding a ghost was too much just to satisfy his curiosity. The blond noticed something in his spars, though. Sasuke now always fought with a blindfold on, and after a few months he was just as good in taijutsu as he was without them. The blond had also improved, sometimes even taking advantage of Sasuke's blindfolds. Naruto still lost most of their spars, but he surprised even himself at how he improved his fighting skills with every day that passed. Sasuke didn't improve so quickly, though his skills always remained above the blond's.

Anko observed all this as the sneaky kunoichi she was: a simple Henge into a garden snake and she slithered to one corner of the dojo with no one the wiser. No one except the ANBU watching the two kids, that is, but they knew better than to annoy the snake mistress when she had a mission. At first she had considered Naruto the "Kyuubi brat" and didn't think much of it. Seeing him first hand made her puzzled at how he could be so strong yet so naïve. His endurance far surpassed Sasuke's. His stamina was clearly superior, and he could track the Uchiha's much faster movements even though he wasn't that fast himself. She wondered if his senses were simply boosted by being the Kyuubi's container, but regardless of the reason, his skills were definitely worthy of a shinobi already.

The day before class started at the Shinobi Academy, Anko waited for Sasuke at their usual spot in the Forest of Death. The Uchiha walked carefully towards it, remembering all the traps and nasty surprises the kunoichi often had for him on the way. Her so-called "training" consisted of him dodging nearly every animal in that forest when they would attack him, which could be at the drop of a kunai. Sometimes, she even joined the hunt after him. He never could sense her coming. Even now he struggled to sense things behind him, but he excelled at sensing things at front of him.

This time there were no traps, but he could feel a surprise coming. Anko was unusually quiet as he stood a few steps from her, his hands twitching towards a kunai already. The snake mistress looked at him without much interested and put her hands in her pockets in a bored manner. Pulling out a notebook, she threw it at the Uchiha who caught it and looked at her with as much confusion as his pride would allow.

"You're going to the Academy kid," she said without preamble.

"Hn," was Sasuke's answer, but he knew better than to think that was all. Anko smirked at this and drew a kunai, something the Uchiha immediately mimicked.

"Let's spar Sasuke. But this time…" she said, then appeared next to Sasuke who had to duck to keep his head attached. He jumped backwards and kept dodging Anko's attacks until a kick was too fast and sent him crashing backwards.

"This time, use your Sharingan. Or else, I'm gonna hurt you for real," she said dead seriously, making Sasuke scowl. He hadn't used the Sharingan ever since their first encounter and it had driven Anko angry for the better part of two years now. Still, he shook his head and closed his eyes. Anko snarled.

The snake mistress moved too fast for Sasuke's sensing, and soon he was covered in bruises and scratches. 'Ugh, this is different from her usual,' he thought as he tried to get more space between him and the near-psychopathic seeming kunoichi, but to no avail. Her attacks were vicious, not even needing her usual snake-based ninjutsu to keep the Uchiha backtracking. She was obviously holding back on her taijutsu as well, or so Sasuke thought until she suddenly blurred past his senses, and dealt a rib-crushing kick that left him rolling in the ground.

"Gak!" he exclaimed as he tried his best to end his roll and standing. Barely managing a crouch, he suddenly felt a wave of fear wash through him as the pain told him he had at least one broken rib. 'She didn't hold back at all! She's serious!' his mind shouted as his body tried desperately to keep dodging despite the pain. He knew he'd eventually dodge straight into one of her kicks or punches; that was the nature of her style, and he had failed to recognize she was using it to its fullest extent now.

There were no words from her, but they both knew she was furious at his stubbornness, and that wasn't going very well for the Uchiha. After a few more exchanges, she jumped back and started waving hand signs. 'Oh crap' was all Sasuke could think before he jumped out of the way of a fireball that nearly turned him into a crispy Uchiha. Another fireball and he was running for his life until he heard a snake's hiss far too close of him to be coincidentally there. It all happened so quickly that he couldn't even think until it was over. A kunai rested on the snake's skull, his hands were forming the handsigns for a Great Fireball and three tomoe circled in his now-red eyes.

Anko smirked, and her fireball met his head-on. The explosion snapped Sasuke back to what he had done, but he didn't have time to deactivate his Sharingan before spotting three incoming shuriken. He blocked them with his kunai, knowing he'd never been able to do that without the Sharingan and cursing himself mentally for it. But now that threat was over, and Sasuke slipped into the dust to find some cover from the crazy kunoichi. He tried sensing her, but his attention was split between his chakra sense and his Sharingan.

It was still good enough to detect a sudden chakra spike to his left, however. Looking that way, his Sharingan read through a Fuuton jutsu just before the Great Breakthrough blew the dust away with Sasuke in it. Fortunately he flew past a tree branch and managed to grab it, then swung himself behind the tree to resist the incredibly powerful wind. The Great Breakthrough done, he stepped back from the tree, just as a snake nearly bound him to it and then blocked Anko's heel kick. Smirking in satisfaction, Anko jumped sideways and attacked Sasuke from his left who also smirked at being able to see her every move now.

With sleight of hand that Anko herself taught him, he drew a kunai and prepared to stick it right on her belly. However, just as he launched his hand forward he realized his mistake too late. 'No, I miscalculated!' his mind screamed as Anko's kick hit him first and sent him crashing through the air, straight into a decimated tree trunk. The bark broke, and Sasuke was left embedded in it, gasping for air and spitting blood. Anko looked at him solemnly, then stored her kunai.

"That's enough for today brat. You know why you sucked so bad while using the Sharingan?" she asked.

"…" Sasuke remained quiet, looking at the ground and not moving a muscle.

"Oi, look at me when I'm talking to you!" Anko exclaimed, a tick mark appearing on her forehead.

"…Because I should not have it." he said almost in a whisper. Anko growled and bumped her forehead with his as her eyes showed unrestricted fury.

"A shinobi doesn't pick his traits! If you have it, you use it! Or else you die like a dog and you get everyone around you killed, got it?" she nearly yelled, her eyes almost challenging Sasuke to rebuke her.

He wanted to tell her how wrong she was. That he DIDN'T have the Sharingan, his brother did. That these were his brother's eyes, not his. Itachi was the reason he survived every time he used the Sharingan. He wanted to tell her that he couldn't keep living off the brother he had killed, but Sasuke bit down his words and his tears. Looking up, he gave her a solemn nod that would make any shinobi proud.

Anko was indeed proud, but her own nod hid an immense worry for the boy. Even as she stood and pulled Sasuke up with her, she wished he would yell back at her or refuse her words. She knew he disagreed anyway, but she hated how well Sasuke hid it. Anko couldn't tell what was on the Uchiha's mind, but she resigned herself to know that if push came to shove Sasuke would use the Sharingan again.

No one could see Sasuke's bandage across his torso the next day, though the Uchiha could certainly feel the cracked rib mending itself. The nurse said he should have stayed at the hospital, but the Academy's first day was too important to pass up. Standing at front of it, he didn't have time to look at how big it was before he felt Naruto jump off its rooftop and land precisely next to him.

"Yo!" said the blond to Sasuke while everyone else backed off.

"Hn." the Uchiha grunted out and shook his head as if he wanted to facepalm instead.

"Hey Sasuke, why weren't you here last year?" he asked tilting his head.

"You mean you were?" Sasuke asked slightly surprised.

"Yeah! I failed it though," the blond answered looking down slightly.

"Tch. Anko never said anything about it."

"Is that the girl you're always talking about?" Naruto asked, and suddenly all the girls in the classroom were trying their best to listen in on Sasuke's answer.

"She's my sensei," he declared, and suddenly all the girls in the classroom breathed in relief.

"O-oh. You already got a sensei? Why the hell you got special treatment?" the blond exclaimed while crossing his arms. Sasuke scoffed and looked at him directly.

"I don't. She's not my official sensei, she just likes to torture me and I happen to learn some things in the meantime," he said with venom in his voice.

"So, she's like you when we spar?" the blond asked with such innocence that Sasuke couldn't help but wince. Even if Naruto had been improving, the truth was Sasuke pretty much used him as a punching bag every time they fought.

"No, Naruto, I don't send poisonous snakes and fireballs at you." he said, having the decency of not adding "yet" at the end of his sentence. This time the blond winced and looked at Sasuke with wide eyes.

"Why the hell would she do that? And why haven't you told me before? I can kick her ass for you dattebayo!" Naruto answered, and Sasuke looked at him as if he was crazy. Before the Uchiha could answer him though, the bell rang and they were forced to run into the academy to find their classroom in time.

Sasuke couldn't help but feel… something after Naruto's offer. He knew it was crazy for Naruto to even try touching a hair of Anko's – she was almost a jonin and if Sasuke couldn't reach her level Naruto wouldn't even come close – but he didn't hate the idea. It's not that he wanted the blond to help him, and he didn't need it. He was the last Uchiha; he didn't need Naruto's help. He trusted the blond meant well, though. Sasuke almost didn't want to admit it, but he liked his friendship with Naruto. The thought alone brought a smile to his face, but only a slight one. A slightly big one.

'What's with all the looks, though?' was what Sasuke thought as he closed his eyes and sensed all the girls looking at him. A part of him wanted to run away, but that would just be ridiculous. Another part of him told him the girls would catch him anyways. So he kept his cool, glancing every now and then to the blond who nobody seemed to be looking at.

The scarred man known as Iruka stood at front of the class and presented himself as their teacher. At first looks he didn't seem to have remarkable skill or importance, but Sasuke knew better than to judge by appearances. Anko looks ready to kill him every day but he's still alive, so anything's possible he thought.

The first class, which turned out to be history, was a drag to Sasuke and pretty much everyone in the class. Even with first day introductions it was dull and boring, and even Iruka was glad it was over by the end of it. Sasuke actually had to drag a yawning Naruto out to the yard, where Iruka announced their first taujutsu sparring match would be held.

Even while yawning, Naruto had an easy win against his opponent as his hits were considerably harder than his matchup's. Sasuke's fan club had taken every spot besides the Uchiha however, so the blond was forced to grumble his way to a side and watch the rest of the matches alone. The Uchiha send a few glances every now and then, almost as if apologizing for not jumping over to him. Naruto flashed him a cocky grin, and the raven haired boy rolled his eyes but was obviously relieved afterwards.

Iruka had purposefully left Sasuke for last. It was made clear why when the Uchiha stood in the circle and looked into a pair of pale eyes staring at him impassively.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Neji Hyuuga. Start!" ordered Iruka, who immediately leaped away into the sidelines and watched closely. The two didn't so much as twitch a muscle, instead watching the other for any move or slip.

Without a word, Sasuke pulled out his blindfold and put it on at front of a bewildered Neji who only stared in surprise. After tying it to the back of his head, Sasuke stared at the Hyuuga who finally found his words.

"Is this a prank?" he asked in a demanding tone, earning Sasuke's direct stare into his eyes.

"No. This is how I fight" he answered and returned to his form. Neji's eyes narrowed, but the silent tension returned and neither moved for a few seconds.

They both charged forward and threw a kick at the same time, crashing into each other and starting a flurry of attacks, dodges and blocks that didn't stop for five full minutes. Iruka himself had to stop it as the two kids matched each other blow for blow. There was respect in both their eyes once back in the classroom, and fangirls had a new glint in their eyes while looking at the Uchiha.

Iruka let them off not much afterward, and Naruto soon caught Sasuke after he somehow lost the fangirls. They had tried following him, but found even an academy student can be sneaky if he wants to.

"That fight was awesome!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly next to Sasuke, who cringed at the loudness of his voice and nearly lost the hoodie he disguised himself with.

"Shhh. Keep it low Naruto, I don't wanna be found," Sasuke said, holding a finger to his lips in the universal sign for silence. Which, apparently, the blond didn't know about.

"You would'a kicked that guy's ass if Iruka-sensei hadn't stop ya!" he exclaimed, drawing the attention of several bystanders. Sasuke glared at the blond and grabbed his arm, walking faster to the Uchiha Compound where he let go of the protesting boy and glared at him.

"First, it was a sparring match Naruto. Second, I was already going all out. Third, do you WANT those fangirls to get me thanks to that loud mouth of yours?" Sasuke spoke still glaring at Naruto, who sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry teme, I thought you liked them," he said and had the decency to look sheepish when Sasuke's glare nearly lighted him in fire.

"How would YOU like a whole mob of girls trying to grab you and saying stupid things?" Sasuke nearly growled while slipping his hands into his pockets and glaring at the boy. Something flashed through the blond's eyes, almost too fast for the Uchiha to see, but it was gone before he could ask anything.

"Yeah, I guess that would suck. Sorry teme," Naruto said while walking next to Sasuke. The Uchiha could see Naruto was thinking hard about something, and suddenly realized that Naruto didn't have a single fangirl that he knew of. The realization hit him like a ton of bricks, and all he could do was nod at the blond and then stare at the ground while walking home.

Before Sasuke could apologize, Naruto started talking again and nearly dragged the Uchiha to the ramen booth by force. The ramen that day tasted more bitter than he remembered, but his mind was focused on something else entirely. It wasn't until they both stood at the compound's gate that Sasuke lifted his eyes from the ground and looked at his friend dead in the eye.

"Wh-wha-?" was all Naruto could say before Sasuke suddenly embraced him for a brief moment. An instant later Sasuke had his back turned and was walking to his house, but before the blond could ask, the raven-haired boy looked over his shoulder with a smile, tiny but truthful.

"Thanks for caring Naruto. And sorry about earlier, I know you'd probably like having fans and people like that..." he said while the blond stared, unsure of what to answer. "See ya later, friend." said Sasuke before entering his compound, leaving a very confused but suddenly happy Naruto at the gate.

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Aaaaaand that's a wrap! This is only Naruto's second year in the Academy so I always wondered, how didn't he ever see Team Gai when they supposedly graduated a year before Team Seven? In my story, it only takes one year to graduate from the Academy which means the rest of the Konoha 12 will show up next year. But who didn't want to see an early skirmish between Sasuke and Neji? I sure as hell did! And I'm the author so I do what I want... Mwahahahaha!


	6. Chapter 5: Going Too Far

See? I was much quicker this time! I'll keep doing my best to post updates quicker from now on. I can't promise a chapter per week but I'll try my best. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 5: Going Too Far**

The next year in the Academy saw Naruto learning the arts of a ninja for his first time, while Sasuke merely polished his. The Uchiha noticed Naruto sometimes learned the wrong things, but every time he pointed it out the blond would be confused and state that's exactly how he had been taught. Naruto in turn would point out how Sasuke always came to class with bandages and bruises, to which the raven-haired boy would grunt at and stop talking at once.

"Alright class, remember to rest well today and prepare for tomorrow's test! Points were given to you all year, but unless you pass this final test you will NOT graduate!" said Iruka to the class, looking at Naruto most of the time. The blond had abysmal grades, just barely good enough to pass for now, but his Bunshin jutsu simply did not work. The chuunin was worried he would fail again, but at this point he couldn't do more about it.

As the class was dismissed, both Naruto and Sasuke vanished from their teammates' sights and soon found each other sparring in the Uchiha's dojo. Naruto's taijutsu was becoming better and better, as he ignored the Academy's teachings and focused on Sasuke's pointers. The raven-haired boy still won, but he had to really work for it now.

The outcome hadn't changed during the whole year, however. Soon Naruto had more bruises than what he could fight with, something he had learned to grudgingly admit. Sasuke smiled and tossed him a water pouch while keeping one for himself, and they both sat silently at the entrance of the dojo while drinking down the heavenly cold liquid.

"Ne, Sasuke, we'll both be ninjas after tomorrow!" Naruto said with a foxy grin, to which the Uchiha could only smile and nod. Sasuke didn't share his enthusiasm, that was obvious, but he looked forward to passing the Academy and coming one step closer to his brother's legacy.

The two boys stayed in silence after that, neither one knowing what to say. It was obvious both their minds were storms, and they both knew that. They both felt close to each other, closer than to anyone else in the village. It was only Sasuke's self loathing that made him flip out at Naruto calling him Sasuke-nii one day.

The blond knew from that day forward, Sasuke felt great pain when anything related to siblings was mentioned. The Uchiha had apologized, but Naruto felt a pang of hurt every time he remembered it. Still, he didn't feel Sasuke hurt him. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he felt another kind of pain. It made the blond hush up what happened, and not to force his nicknames as he does with everyone else.

In the solitude of the night the blond dreamed of a grown Sasuke becoming his older brother and endless ramen, while the Uchiha himself stood at front of a calm pond somewhere in the complex. His eyes were blinded by his usual cloth and he formed handsigns as fast as he could. Soon a fireball lit the pond, and their collision created a cloud of mist that would had blinded him anyways.

Sasuke grit his teeth as he concentrated. The Katon: Housenka no Jutsu he fired up once he finished again lit the pond and formed several mist clouds, although very small ones. The Uchiha growled under his breath, knowing the jutsu should have fired multiple fireballs and not mere embers.

As he fired jutsu after jutsu at the pond, Itachi's memory flickered in his mind. It fueled his rage and determination to improve, driving him far past even his limits. Sunrise found him out of chakra and sleeping in the grass, not a rare sight for someone like Mitarashi Anko who watched over 'her brat' when he trained or when she sensed him train.

'He went too far, tonight of all nights. Even when I told him to take it easy… Damnit brat! Not even I play as much with fire as you do!" growled the snake mistress in her head as she bit her lip. 'There's nothing I can do here... Kami have mercy on you now, Sasuke.' Anko thought to herself before disappearing in a silent burst of speed.

Sasuke woke up minutes later to agonizing pain all over his body. Slight burns could be seen here and there on his skin, proof of his failures in mastering his fire jutsus of choice. His mind ran on overdrive to lead him into breakfast, and then into the Academy as he shook the tiredness away.

"You don't look so good, Sasuke," Naruto commented as the Uchiha came into the classroom. A grunt was the answer, after which the blond muttered a "whatever" and looked up. Iruka gave a speech on how important the test was, wished the students good luck and handed out a sheet of paper to everyone. Naruto groaned, and Sasuke did his best not to do the same as well.

Once the written exam was finished everyone was called to the yard where a small arena had been set. Naruto's scowl was a big teller on how it went for him, but taijutsu was his forte. Soon he was itching to fight, if only to have some fun already and get the exam over with. He won, though he received far too many hits to have a perfect score. That was good enough for the blond who whistled his way back to as close as he could get from Sasuke.

Iruka had predictably left the Uchiha for last, against Neji Hyuuga once again. The two had barely ever met again after the first day's match, and both had grown greatly in skill. Their scores rivaled each other's, though Sasuke's had suffered from constantly arriving tired and hurt to class.

Neji's eyes narrowed as Sasuke put the blindfold on. He had been hoping the Uchiha would fight him without them, as even respect didn't stop him from feeling underestimated. 'He plans of depriving himself of his doujutsu. I will not commit the same mistake' the Hyuuga sentenced in his mind as his veins around his eyes bulged out and Iruka gave the order to start.

The last thing Neji expected was to see Sasuke being nearly empty of chakra. Neither made a move, but it was obvious to the stoic Hyuuga that his opponent was extremely weakened. Neji frowned, and when Sasuke's kick could be easily blocked by a single arm swipe he knew something was wrong.

Minutes later Sasuke fell to the ground coughing blood, his chakra used up or sealed by Neji's Gentle Fist style. No one could believe the outcome had been decided so quickly, and Iruka quickly rushed to attend to the injured boy.

"Stay back! I'll handle this!" exclaimed Iruka while holding Sasuke in his arms, scanning him over to check for the injuries of most importance. He could sense what was wrong however, even with his limited sensory skill. His chakra was nearly gone, and he knew Neji alone couldn't have done so much damage to his body.

"How did you get so many burns?" demanded the chuunin, looking at the boy harshly.

"T-training… I'm fine, Iruka-sensei." Sasuke claimed, trying to stand up but being stopped by Iruka who outright glared at him and held the boy bridal style.

"The exam is over for you Sasuke, you're in no condition to continue. The next phase requires chakra and your amount is too low to attempt even a Bunshin. I'm sorry Sasuke, Mizuki-sensei will take you to the hospital, and I won't hear complaints." declared the chuunin teacher, and Sasuke could do nothing but stare helplessly in horror as it dawned on him. He had failed.

"I'm coming too!" exclaimed Naruto as he ran next to Iruka, worry etched all over his face.

"You still have an exam to take Naruto." was the answer by Sasuke, who managed to get his head over the chuunin's shoulder and glare at the blond. Naruto, unperturbed, flipped him off and pointed at Iruka.

"I don't care, I'll be there with ya and screw the exam, dattebayo!" the blond declared, shocking the Uchiha into silence and then a chuckle as he shook his head in disbelief.

"You baka… Well, I guess you'd fail the exam without a Bunshin, anyway," Sasuke said while letting himself rest his shoulder on Iruka who let him stand on his own, but not without support.

"I totally would have passed. My scores without it are too awesome, dattebayo!" shouted Naruto who was red-faced and waving a fist at the Uchiha. Iruka sweatdropped, but decided not to tell Naruto he had already failed the written part and thus failed the exam already.

The two boys plus Mizuki found themselves at the hospital, where the nurses didn't seem surprised at all by seeing either boy. Naruto never left Sasuke's side, and the Uchiha never asked him to do otherwise. Sasuke remained silent as the doctor healed what he could and lectured him on the consequences of taking his training too far.

The doctor hadn't seen such physical strain in quite a long time. Sasuke's chakra network had been overworked to the point where it hurt just to keep chakra running through it. He knew this couldn't had been done in a single training session. That very same doctor had warned Anko that the boy drove himself too hard, so it was with little reluctance that he gave Sasuke a grave warning. He could lose the ability to use ninjutsu if he kept it up. The Uchiha had dropped his gaze to the ground and nodded quietly, obviously ashamed and a little bit afraid.

There was nothing else the doctor could do for him. A certain purple-haired kunoichi signed for the boy, and just like that Sasuke had been released. Naruto reluctantly left after the doctor shooed him away, and Anko then entered the room. She hadn't wanted the Kyuubi brat to be there to see what came next.

"I'm sor-" Sasuke started trying to say, only to be cut off by Anko angrily yanking him by his clothes and holding him in the air, keeping him face to face so he could see the angriest glare he had ever stared at.

"What the fuck was that, you stupid dumbass!" she barked and Sasuke flinched. She didn't care. "I gave you the day free, I told you not to do something stupid! If you wanna die on me I'll kill you myself but I trained you better than this brat! Did I waste my time with you? Is this all there is to you stuck-up Uchihas?" she shouted at the raven-haired boy that could only stare at her in horror and resignation. There was no answer he could give, and they both knew it.

Sasuke couldn't keep gazing into those eyes that threatened to burn him alive. He looked away, up, down, anywhere but at them as he shook his head. His failure hadn't resounded so loudly in his ears until then, but now it did. He felt like he failed his father, failed Itachi, failed Anko. He felt like a failure. He almost wanted Anko to kill him.

The kunoichi read his emotions on his eyes like a book however, and slowly let go of his clothes. She was shaking of anger. That was when a slap brought Sasuke's incredulous eyes back to Anko, who stood with his hand open and a look mixed with rage and concern in her eyes. The shock of being hit, the shock of seeing concern paralyzed him, but the kunoichi wasn't done talking.

"Wake up already! Nobody here's gonna baby you, especially not me, but you better not believe for a second that I don't care! You've made me care for the first thing in this fucking village, so don't you go and waste that. But you've got more to waste than just my care, don't you?" she said, slowly calming down but with cold fury in her eyes that Sasuke wished he could stop looking at but stared into anyways. A cold fury that wasn't at him, but for him. He understood that she knew of what happened with Itachi, and the thought made him gulp.

Anko didn't say anymore after that. She didn't need to. The kunoichi restrained what was left of her anger and walked Sasuke home, the boy being as silent as her. His mind was still reeling from her words, and the fact that he failed the Academy. He felt worthless, but every time he thought too deep into it he caught a glimpse of Anko and stopped himself.

"Don't bother coming into the Forest for a week brat. And if I catch you training here, I'll skin your chakra network off ya, get me?" the kunoichi declared with a warning glare, to which Sasuke nodded. Satisfied, she left with her hands in her pockets, not taking so much as a glimpse back to the brooding Uchiha. The boy gingerly walked to his room, stumbling but refusing to fall, until he collapsed on his bed with the unshed tears finally flowing out of his red eyes.

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Yes, Sasuke failed this year and thus has to repeat it! Along with Naruto, of course. They'll be part of the Konoha 12 again no worries, but Sasuke's struggle is different this time. We're starting to see how different he's treating things as to how he did in cannon. Don't expect a God Mode Sasuke just because he stayed another year in the Academy though! And who sweated a bit when Mizuki was left alone with the two kids? I sure as hell did! Anyways, I feel very excited for the next chapter. This has been a great start, but filler-ish for me. I want to get to the good stuff, to Wave and the Exams and the Fourth-! Okay, can't get TOO excited now. Tehee! Let's see where this goes, and if I get to at least 15 reviews I'll do an omake for the next chapter, or the one after that. It depends. I don't really expect to get the reviews, but hope comes for free right? Well then, see y'all in the next chapter!


	7. Chapter 6: The Test

Didn't expect an update so quick, did ya? Haha! Well, this is the end of the Beginning arc. I like to call it that, since it's the setup to the actual start of the action. Hopefully you guys will enjoy this chapter, since it actually has a fight scene and all. As I said before I would skip the year since you've probably seen most of it in the Naruto cannon anyway so I might as well just get down to business. Without further ado, let's get to it!

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**Chapter 6: The test**

The next year saw a Sasuke determined to get the highest grade possible. Though he continued to spar with Naruto and train with Anko in the Forest of Death, his class teammates saw a boy with perfect grades and a concentrated attitude. Iruka had been impressed, and he couldn't help but feel relieved that he didn't take to Naruto in classes with how closely bonded they were.

Naruto, of course, had barely attended to class. Every time Iruka sat him down at Ichiraku's for a talk, the boy would complain about how he had already taken the classes. The chunin instructor saw no way to convince the boy to pay attention, but he also knew of his and Sasuke's sparring matches. The blond's taijutsu was visibly improving, and Iruka already saw the fruits of the experience gained; the boy knew how to use his stamina, and his opponents never won without bruises if they even won at all.

The first time the two boys met on the taijutsu arena, their grins showed just how eager they both were to fight at front of the class. Of course, Sasuke's fan group lead by a blonde and a pinkette cheered at him furiously while crickets could be heard on Naruto's side. If the Uchiha cared about it, he didn't show it. Naruto had gotten used to it, and neither one would take his eyes off the other at that point anyway.

The fight had been fierce. Sasuke pumped all his strength and speed to brutalize Naruto right out of the bat, to the point Iruka would had stopped it if Naruto hadn't gotten a few good hits. The blond proved to take every advantage he got though, especially Sasuke's blindfolds. The Uchiha was already a good sensor, but every now and then Naruto made a point of distracting him with rocks that his sensing couldn't alert him quick enough, throwing him off-balance and making him pay for it.

Still, Naruto wasn't the only one with endurance and Sasuke handily won the match. Sakura's jibes at the blond earned her a glare from the Uchiha, however, something that left both her and Ino puzzled. It took them a few days to accept the fact that Naruto and Sasuke were friends. They learned to be actually jealous of the blond when the Uchiha often chose to hang out with him instead of with the fangirls. Naruto's fixation on asking Sakura for a date didn't give him points with the fan group either.

Sasuke let out a sigh as his fan club cheered him on. He had just been called to perform the Bunshin jutsu, part of the final exam of the Academy. His taijutsu match had ended in his complete victory against one Shino Aburame, who was deceptively adequate at taijutsu but still not nearly good enough. His Bunshin was flawless, but he grimaced as Naruto came next and completely flunked his. Again.

The Uchiha had flinched when Naruto had come out of the Academy and sat on the swing at the yard. He knew this was Naruto's last chance. The blond tried to smile and wave at him when the Uchiha saw him, but he knew what he was feeling. Sasuke stared at the boy and put a hand on his shoulder, and Naruto knew better than to keep his facade.

They both looked down at the same time, knowing exactly what was going on the other's mind. Sasuke was the first one to break the silence, offering a trip to Ichiraku's that the blond surprisingly refused. Naruto stood up and walked away after that, ignoring Sasuke's narrowed eyes and being completely oblivious to Iruka's worried gaze over him.

Nightfall saw Sasuke looking at himself in the mirror, his hitaite covering his forehead and a storage scroll folded on his hands. A poof later a ninja-to rested on his hands, one that Sasuke held with reverence. Fixing a holster to the back of his blue shirt, he sheathed it and looked out at the door. Naruto hadn't come in to the usual sparring match, and Sasuke was already worried. Giving himself one last look, trying to supress his self-loathing at the sight, the Uchiha raced out of the compound with Itachi's sword on his back.

He didn't see the blond boy anywhere, and Sasuke was already getting annoyed. The raven-haired boy knew Naruto was a prankster, something that required great skill and would make him want to be untraceable. At least, until the prank had been done. Sasuke had actually helped him with his pranks a few times, and he knew how the blond actually enjoyed letting his persecutors know where he was just to get chased around.

Sasuke was finally giving up on finding the boy when he saw a ninja rushing to the Hokage Tower. Curiosity peaked him when he recognized Iruka, and when the chuunin teacher came out of the tower at even faster speeds the Uchiha decided to intercept him.

"Sensei!" Sasuke shouted while doing his best to keep up with the chuunin. Uchiha or not, Sasuke was barely a genin and Iruka had to slow down slightly just for the boy to keep up with him.

"Sasuke! Do you know where Naruto is?" Iruka questioned immediately, which took the boy by surprise.

"I planned to ask the same thing sensei. Did something happen?" Sasuke replied, his gaze showing a concern Iruka couldn't deny to the boy.

"Yes. We have evidence he took the Forbidden Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's office. I have to get to him Sasuke, so if you know where he is..." Iruka said, eyeing the boy as they leaped from roof to roof. Sasuke understood the implication. 'Are you hiding him?' was the implied question, but the Uchiha shook his head.

"I don't, but I can help find him, sensei," Sasuke declared, staring at the chuunin with a pleading look.

"I don't know Sasuke, this is a mission directly from the Hokage..," Iruka said, visibly struggling with the decision. Sasuke saw it as a chance to convince him and didn't let it pass up.

"I can help sense him! He's not at his usual places either, but-" Sasuke spoke but was cut off by Iruka shaking his head.

"Sorry Sasuke, rules are rules. Keep looking for him on the usual places, I'll find you if I can't find him on my own. Sorry, but as a ninja you must understand." Iruka stated with finality, then continued at full speed. Sasuke could only trail behind, seething at being dismissed so easily. He knew he was a ninja now, but the feeling of powerlessness was frustrating him beyond reason.

'Calm down Sasuke,' he thought and then chanted on his mind, forcing himself to pace his breathing as Anko had taught him once. 'Think. If he's not in the usual places, where could he be? How can I find him? Searching the whole village would be like finding a needle in a haystack even with my sensing… Guess I'll just have to follow Iruka-sensei for now and hope he knows better,' concluded the Uchiha and followed after the teacher, going so fast his muscles strained and threatened to break if he kept it up.

As they went into a forest, Sasuke finally caught a breather when he felt Iruka stop next to where he now sensed Naruto as well. He didn't feel them fighting, so the boy decided to wait and see what would happen when a third chakra signature appeared as if out of thin air at front of them. He couldn't see it, but Mizuki had sneaked up on Iruka and forced him to hastily block a handful of kunais, some of which slipped through his defense and now stuck on the chuunin's arms.

Sasuke had no idea what was going on. Iruka's voice echoed on his mind, repeating rules were rules over and over again. He knew he shouldn't intervene in an active mission even if Naruto was involved. He heard what Iruka had said, that Naruto had stolen a scroll from the Hokage's office. Sasuke couldn't help but think that maybe the blond was capable of it. He knew Naruto would have his reasons, but Sasuke knew he was a shinobi now. A punch of frustration met the bark of the tree he stood on and he resolved himself.

When he sensed Iruka hurt and all three signatures dashing away, he gave pursuit. Sasuke knew they were still a bit too far for him to reach, but he'd gotten himself involved, somehow. When he saw 'Naruto' punch 'Iruka into a clearing, his eyes widen and his feet glued to the tree he was about to jump off from. His look of horror only lasted for a second, however, as 'Iruka' turned into Mizuki who glared at 'Naruto', who in turn flopped with his back to a tree and turned into Iruka.

"Why would you defend the Kyuubi?! Why would you protect the monster that killed your parents, Iruka?" Mizuki raged at the nearly unconscious chuunin, who looked at him gravely from his seat at the base of the tree.

"I wouldn't." Iruka stated, and kept speaking after Mizuki looked at him in confusion. "But Naruto is not the Kyuubi! Naruto is a member of Konohagakure, and more than that, he's my student!" the chuunin shouted, earning him a growl of frustration from the traitorous instructor.

"I changed my mind, you bastard! I'll kill you now after all!" shouted Mizuki back and threw the giant shuriken on his back, only to be blocked by Naruto.

"If you wanna kill him, you gotta go over my dead body! I won't let you touch my sensei, dattebayo!" the blond declared as he stood firmly between the two chuunin. Mizuki's roar of laughter was his answer, a mad laugh that made Sasuke narrow his eyes almost into slits.

"Just hand over the scroll, and maybe I won't kill you brat. Actually, forget that. I'll just kill you and take the scroll! But I'll kill Iruka first, so you can-" Mizuki declared while smirking at the blond, obviously not taking him seriously, before being interrupted and terrified by dozens and dozens of clones suddenly popping into existance.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" declared Naruto as his clones covered everything Mizuki saw, turning his confidence into terror as they all cracked their knuckles and went at him. The shock at the sheer numbers made the chuunin back away, only to get punched back into the group by clones and having the rest pile on him. Desperation snapped him back into reason as he waved handsigns as fast as his terror let him.

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" the traitor declared, as his breath blew away a whole section of the clones and popped them out of existence. The other clones attempted to take revenge, only for Mizuki to wield a kunai on each hand and engage them in taijutsu. The clones were many, but weren't experienced enough to stop the chuunin from popping a few then backing down for another Fuuton: Daitoppa.

The wind would had blown away most of Naruto's clones, had it not been for a fireball that intercepted it by the side and took it away. The blast scorched the forest next to the shinobi as Sasuke stood on the sidelines, his blindfold on but his gaze glued to the traitor chuunin.

"You too huh? You're both genin, you can't beat me!" Mizuki said, which would have had more effect on the boys had he not sounded so scared. Sasuke scoffed, then took a glimpse at Naruto.

"You okay?" Sasuke asked him, to which the many Narutos nodded or cheered at. "Good." the Uchiha stated, his gaze set at Mizuki again.

"Let's kick his ass!" Naruto's clones chorused in unison and dashed forward.

Mizuki attempted to back down, only to find Sasuke's kick nearly embedded to his nose. A frantic dive was all that saved the chuunin, but the punch from three of Naruto's clones made him sorry for it. A good minute later saw Mizuki trying to stand on a broken leg, the two genin panting at front of him but unharmed aside from a few scratches and bruises.

"Why… Why do you defend him too? He's the Kyuubi. Don't you understand?" Mizuki shouted to Sasuke, earning a growl and glare from Naruto. Sasuke looked confused for a moment, but his hands waved through signs as Mizuki attempted a last Fuuton: Daitoppa. The wave of wind was nearly upon the two when Sasuke's fireball burst right through it and exploded on Mizuki with double its force. Both boys stared as the entire area was consumed by the fire, Naruto in awe of the flashiness of the technique and Sasuke wary of Mizuki coming out of that. He didn't.

"Naruto… Come here," Iruka whispered as the fight finally ended, earning a rush from Naruto who was next to him within seconds.

"Are you okay Iruka-sensei? You'll be fine, right? You saw us? We beat him! I'm so sorry-" Naruto blabbered on until Iruka pulled him into a hug with one arm and chuckled weakly.

"I'm proud, Naruto. Here, I have something for you," Iruka said while letting a blushing Naruto sit straight again and putting his own hitaite on the blond's forehead. "You pass." the teacher declared, falling unconscious with Naruto's giant grin looming in his mind.

* * *

Yes, I made Mizuki stronger than in cannon. The guy gets the drop on Iruka when they're both chuunins, he deserved to have an above-genin strength. Naruto won a bit too easily the first time, and though he still would had won against him in this fic I chose to have Sasuke butt in and help him out. Given that Sasuke actually cares for Naruto this time around, plus having his sensor abilities (which failed to pick Mizuki up because Mizuki was sneaking and Sasuke's sensing isn't good enough yet) would mean that Sasuke would at least get involved. Hope you guys enjoyed the read, and we'll be seeing Team 7 assembled in the next chapter! Look forward to it!


	8. Chapter 7: Team Seven

As usual, I don't own Naruto. I used to but that was in a dream, and sadly my attempts to sink the whole world into Eternal Tsukuyomi so everyone lived in it failed. I would had gotten away with it too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids and that stupid talking frog! (They're toads, I know, but calling them frogs piss them off.)

* * *

**Chapter 7: Team Seven**

"Sasuke." Iruka greeted as he stood on the Uchiha's doorstep the next morning, sporting a cast on his right arm and his usual chunnin vest. It covered the multiple wrappings the older ninja had around his torso, but it couldn't hide the winces every time he had to start moving and take a step forward. Which was exactly what Sasuke silently invited him to do.

Iruka looked around, and after scanning every object in the room out of reflex he found himself curiously noting the infrastructure of the place. He hadn't had many chances, if any at all, to witness an Uchiha house from the inside. The deceased clan were very secretive and secluded with such things, at the point where they refused for their compound to be built the same way as the rest of Konoha. Uchiha-only contractors had to be brought in to the village from other areas of Hi no Kuni, so the style and materials of their homes were entirely different to anything Iruka had ever seen.

Sasuke noticed the distraction in his teacher, but he himself was too distracted in thoughts to be curious about it. To him it was more important to observe the older ninja closely, trying to figure out the purpose of his visit. 'Surely he isn't here to sight-see… especially with those wounds.' Sasuke wondered in his mind, even the paltry Academy education on the topic teaching him to see such obvious signs of injury. All shinobi needed to be trained to look for weaknesses, it was something done almost unconsciously by any self-respecting nin. The boy sat down on a very comfortable wooden chair, almost wincing from a sudden memory as his body pushed down on the seat's cushion. Once upon a time always sat there by his father when a lecture was coming, and Sasuke unconsciously had chosen his usual seat while Iruka, by luck, chose Fugaku's. The chunnin couldn't have known of course, and he decidedly didn't look about to lecture Sasuke if his concerned gaze was anything to go by.

No, Iruka was worried about something and he was the first one to break the silence. "Sasuke, I apologize for coming here so early. You must be preparing for your team assignation in a couple hours, but what happened yesterday..." he said, then shook his head as he thought it better. "It was unexpected. You went beyond your call of duty. And, Sasuke, this must have been a particularly difficult thing for you. I don't doubt you as a ninja – you have your hitaite, after all – which is why I'm here as your equal. So if you want to talk about anything that troubles you, you can always talk to me about it. I'm sure it's not easy to digest the first time that you killed someone, even if he was a traitor." Iruka explained, his eyes glued to the boy's jet black orbs with even more softness that he had ever offered as a teacher. But it was also with eyes that have seen horrors without blinking. Sasuke immediately wanted to trust them, but the chunnin's words shook him.

'Yeah, I killed Mizuki didn't I...' he idly wondered to himself, remembering the traitorous chunnin's last attempt for a wind jutsu that merely fueled his own demise. Wind was more than just weak to fire, it could increase a fire jutsu's power if the wind-style user wasn't careful about it. Mizuki had been desperate and threw caution to the wind. Literally. A pile of charcoal was all that was left of the man.

But…

'It wasn't my first kill...' Sasuke bitterly bit back, unable to trust that much in his academy teacher. Flashes of Itachi gurgling his last words as he fought back drowning in his own blood made Sasuke close his eyes shut, shaking his head and instinctively leaning away from Iruka who immediately saw the almost violent reaction and instantly hugged the boy. The chunnin could only say a few words of comfort as the boy slowly got himself back together, trembling less and less until he didn't feel like a leaf in the wind and noticed Iruka's arms around him. He hadn't felt that in so long that his first instinct was wanting to push him away and run, but instead he mumbled "I'm ok" so that the chunnin would let him go. He hadn't had the heart to push him away, not when Iruka would never know the horror Sasuke truly committed. "I-I'm fine sensei, Mizuki deserved it. I did what I had to do, and I would do it again." he said with much more strength in his voice as Iruka knelt before him, looking into his eyes as if to make sure the boy was saying the truth. Apparently the chunnin found what he was looking for, even if he was saddened a bit by it.

'What am I doing, telling a kid that it's ok that he killed and ok that he will kill again?' Iruka wondered as he recognized Sasuke's words as the textbook instruction on his shinobi guilt management class. He himself had said those words to Sasuke only a few months ago, and there was a bitter taste to hearing them back from the boy with such conviction. But he knew, oh he knew, that it was the right thing to do and it was better to hear that than to hear nothing from a corpse he'd have to bury. Iruka wasn't a half-assed teacher to believe he was condemning his students to a life of horror because of what he taught. But he didn't stop himself from acknowledging it would be even better if he didn't need to teach them such things because the world was such a good place.

Silently Iruka nodded at Sasuke in approval of his words and patted the boy's knees, then stood up. "You saved me and Naruto, Sasuke. I'm sure killing will never make you feel good, but you don't have to think of it that way. You protected us, that's what you did." Iruka said as further encouragement, a warm smile sneaking into his face. 'If he was Naruto I bet he'd like me to ruffle his head right now. As it is, though, I should count my blessings. He actually listened to me.' the chunnin thought to himself and waved goodbye with a smile, not wanting things to be even more awkward for the Uchiha. Sasuke gave a polite "Thanks" in return and closed the door after the man, only to look down in shame once he made sure Iruka couldn't somehow see it. 'Who did I protect the first time?' he asked himself, even as a voice in his head that sounded awfully close to Itachi's told him it hadn't been his fault.

* * *

"Why are we the only ones left?" Naruto complained for the hundredth time, kicking his feet over the desk while Sakura's face shifted between scowling at the boy and marveling at Sasuke. 'At least the teme can have fun...' Naruto thought jealously, trying his best to ignore how "The Girl Of His Dreams" only had eyes for the Uchiha. He had told himself he'd never get between his friend and his dates, even if Sasuke himself told him Sakura was just annoying to him. Of course, Sakura herself would clog him every time Naruto forgot that and asked Sakura for a date. He secretly loved how Sasuke would get angry at the pink-haired girl every time she hurt Naruto, and she would quickly apologize to the Uchiha. It still had a bit of a sting that Sakura would only apologize if Sasuke told her to do it, but it was better than nothing.

Of course, for Sasuke this was pure torment. Sakura was too bubbly for him, especially when he just wanted to brood about his clan and what he had done. He knew she'd never understand him, and he hated that she pretended to date him without even knowing him. Especially when she kept hurting Naruto. It wasn't a secret that they were best friends. Besides, what the hell had Naruto done so wrong? Sakura didn't seem to hate herself for asking him on a date every day, so why would she be mad at Naruto for occasionally asking her out? The hypocrisy made him flip out at Sakura a few times, but she didn't seem to give up.

Funny, how the two were so alike.

"Good morning." A silver-haired man casually said while entering the classroom, then waved at the three genin. It was 4pm. "YOURE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura exclaimed in unison, making the man scowl. "My first impression of you: I hate you. Meet me at the roof." he ordered, then disappeared in a swirl of leaves. "What the hell?" Naruto asked perplexed, looking at Sasuke for answers. Said boy shrugged. "Maybe he's that quick? He has to be our jonin." he offered as an explanation, making Naruto shrug too. "Umm, if he's our jonin then shouldn't we be hurrying to the roof?" Sakura timidly suggested - she'd be shouting it at Naruto, but she was looking at Sasuke when she said it – which made both boys suddenly blink and then start running while they both thought the same. 'Sakura has better common sense than us?!'

On the roof, the silver-haired man quickly spoke while the three kids sad down at front of him. "Alright, why don't you introduce yourselves?" he asked in a casual tone, but Sasuke wasn't fooled. It was basically an order, one he knew Naruto would be itching to follow first. "Hey, why don't you start so we can have an idea what you want?" Or not. Naruto went out and nearly shouted that question, pointing at the man who shrugged and opened his mouth under the face mask he wore. "Well, my name's Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate… Hmm, I don't feel like telling you that." he declared, making all three gennin faceplant. The man simply continued. "My dreams for the future… never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies." he said with a shrug, making Sakura facepalm and the two boys sweatdrop. "Hey, you're not saying much of anything!" Naruto accused, but Kakashi merely ignored him. "Now you three go. What are your names, likes and dislikes, dreams for the future and hobbies. Shouldn't be too hard for you gennin, right?" he said, his suggestion turning Naruto purple from anger.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki! I like ramen and training with Sasuke, I hate the five minutes it takes to cook instant ramen and when that snake lady beats Sasuke up so much he can't train! My hobby is pulling pranks! And I'm gonna be Hokage, believe it! Good enough for ya?" he said with a defiant grin, making Kakashi sigh. "Next." he said, looking at Sasuke while Naruto gaped at the blatant ignore. "Hey-!" Naruto started to shout but Sasuke started with a smirk, internally choking at how Kakashi already knew what buttons to press. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I like training with the knucklehead next to me, tomatoes, and not having a crazy snake woman try to kill me. I dislike most sweet things, people that insult Naruto and traitors. Ummm, I don't particularly like you either Sakura." he stated and looked at Sakura as he said the last part, making the kunoichi jump startled then look down in shame for the rest of his words. "My hobbies are to train on my own and walk around blindfolded. My dream is to be like my older brother and restore my clan..." he said the last part far less sure of himself and looking down as he spoke of Itachi.

"Very well. You there, pinkie. Your turn." Kakashi spoke up, making Sakura's head lift up in attention. "Hai! My name is Sakura Haruno. I like..." she trailed and softly giggled as she looked at Sasuke but quickly stiffled it. "My hobbies are… umm… I dream of being a good kunoichi and, umm..." she spoke softer and softer each minute, looking at Sasuke every time she hesitated. Said Uchiha boy sighed and rolled his eyes, crossing his arms and trying to ignore the fact she was fangirling all over him all of the time. "And what do you hate?" Kakashi casually asked, making the girl glare at Naruto who gulped, but didn't dare say his name. All four people understood.

"Alright, guess we got that out of the way." Kakashi concluded, then stood up straight. "You're each unique, and you all have your own ideas. We're ready for our mission tomorrow." he coolly added, making Naruto forget all about his anger and jump up in excitement. "What are we doing Kakashi-sensei? Are we rescuing a princess? Saving Hi no Kuni? Sneaking into-?" Naruto went on to ask but the jonin cut him off. "It's a task that all four of us will be doing together. A survival exercise." Kakashi answered, letting the three gennin complain about it.

He was surprised, however, when Sasuke held Naruto's shoulder before the blond could complain and looked directly into Kakashi's eyes. 'Sharp kid...' Kakashi mentally acknowledged, but outwardly kept his nonchalant demeanor. "Does that mean you'll be training us?" he asked, but Kakashi shook his head making the Uchiha frown in confusion. "Now why would I train three brats who aren't even real gennin anyways?" he said, letting the implications sink into the three kids whose eyes went wide as saucers before he went on. "I'm the one that decides if you three pass or not. As it is, from the twenty-seven candidates that passed the Academy exam us jonin will only be passing 9. So the chances you three fail this mission is sixty-six percent." he declared with a dramatic tone, enjoying endlessly how each of the gennin had their own expression for horror. "Be at Training Ground Three like designated at 9:00am sharp, and bring your gear. I'd suggest skipping breakfast if you don't want to be puking it all over the field once we start the test. That's all I got to say about that." Kakashi declared, then disappeared in another swirl of leaves that left all three gennin gapping at each other in confusion, horror, anger and determination.

As Kakashi stood before the Memorial Stone he couldn't help but smile at how they didn't look as if they had caught on to what he said. 'Guess it wasn't just me that didn't understand teamwork right away, sensei. I find myself hoping they learn it tomorrow, however. I'd hate myself if I had to fail your son, after all...' he thought to himself, then started to read every name in the stone as he always forced himself to do. Soon there was nothing but the stone and wind in the field, leaving it empty until three nervous gennin arrived the next day ready for their final test.

* * *

Anko fidgeted with a senbon as she waited inside Sasuke's house for the boy, silently cursing herself for not having been around the day before or even earlier that same day. She had seen Iruka go into the boy's house and leave it with very different attitudes, and even if it didn't take a genius to figure out something happened between them she was such a genius.

Then the Hokage had finally let her know who his jonin sensei would be. Kakashi was the logical choice of course, and the team had Naruto there as well, but hell if Anko wasn't pissed about it.

There were few people she would ever consider more unstable than herself. The silver-haired jonin was one of them.

She had nothing against Kakashi's skills or even his personality. The guy was laid back, as well as the most skilled jonin in all of Konoha. Maito Gai could match him in battle and was arguably the best taijutsu user in the world, but sadly the man limited himself mostly to that. Kakashi did no such thing, and few hoped to ever best him in a ninjutsu contest. Even bloodline users paled in comparison to the sheer number of jutsu the man's Sharingan had copied over the years and some people feared it could copy such kekkei genkai despite this being impossible. Fear wasn't always logical, after all.

But when Kakashi went on suicidal missions and openly push teammates away when he was forced to take a mission with one? He might not be the type to cry about his past, but with the amount of brooding and self-flagellation he does there really wasn't any need for it. There had to be something cathartic in torturing yourself with the most painful memory you've ever received, she concluded. Of course she wasn't the same and would gladly drink herself under the table if it meant forgetting about Orochimaru. She had tried. And failed.

Thoughts on Sasuke's sensei were pushed aside when the boy in question silently entered his own house. He never had the chance to see Anko coming. The house's defenses were good, but lacking in updates since Sasuke couldn't become a seal expert overnight and the village believed ANBU patrols were good enough to make up for it. Said ANBU knew Anko's intention, however, and would only stop her if she harmed him. That left her all the freedom in the world to hug Sasuke from behind as a few of her snakes wrapped around him.

If he tried to yell or fight back before the paralysis jutsu hit him she had no idea, but she definitely felt a shiver.

"Awww my cute little gaki, you thought you'd get rid of me that easily?" Anko purred to his ears, silently undoing the jutsu and not feeling surprised at all that Sasuke stayed still despite of it. Of course, this wasn't the first time she did this and she had to swear not to speak of what happened then. There was enough decency in her that it wasn't something she'd want to talk about anyways.

"Was it too much to hope?" Sasuke answered with enough snark on his tone that even Anko immediately got angry about it.

"Why you little – is this how you say hi after a whole day of not seeing me?" she replied, feigning hurt by the end. By his dry chuckle she was too late in holding back her own snarky tone.

"Didn't know you missed me." Sasuke now teased, and Anko knew he knew he had got to her. 'Fine, you win this time brat.' she mentally conceded while letting go of him and getting uncharacteristically serious.

"You got into trouble, brat. At least you did good. Really good. Come with me to your lake, there's something we have to talk about there." she ordered, making Sasuke snap into full attention. Anko never "talked". She always used words like chatting or "spilling your guts out" but never talk. 'Something put her into business mode… Was it me? Why would she care about me killing Mizuki? She brags about every mission she takes for Kami's sake, and they're always bloody, so what the hell!' Sasuke thought to himself, furiously trying to figure out what Anko was up to as he did what he was told.

Once they got to the lake, Anko swiftly summoned a piece of paper and held it at front of Sasuke. "You may be told otherwise, but summoning contracts are mostly owned by the villages. You bet that Konoha keeps its most important contracts to itself, too. Nobody cares much about small contracts though. So I got two contracts for ya. One is a big contract, owned by the village. The other one belongs to the Uchiha clan. I can't even read it brat, only you can, and it's for crows. It's actually yours by… inheritance." she explained, almost hesitating at the end. It obviously came from Itachi, and Sasuke remembered it as he had been spoken to about heritage already.

He wanted it, but at the same time he didn't think he deserved it. The big contract sounded interesting, however.

Before he could voice all that, however, Anko spoke again. His own hesitation must have been all over his face because the tokubetsu jonin didn't give him a chance to argue.

"You're gonna have both. Look, the big contract is with the snakes. Orochibastard took the main scroll to it but the village has the power to create a new one, since its master is technically the village itself. Yes, that means there's now two main scrolls going around but that's besides the point. You're signing them now, but you can't use them until you get a good relationship with your summons. Got it?" Anko explained and ended with a warning look, making Sasuke slump in defeat.

"Yeah, got it Anko-shishou..." Sasuke resigned himself, grabbing the paper and bending to his knees so he could sign it on the ground. "It's with blood, right?" he asked, already biting his thumb even before Anko gave him the nod. It was a simple summoning seal, the boy didn't even have to write his name on it. A poof was heard when he traced a line of blood in it and performed the summoning jutsu, and a rainbow-colored snake slithered through the cloud that appeared looking at Sasuke before twisting towards Anko.

"Hey there purple brat. Pale brat doesn't want anyone else getting our contract y'know. But, uhh, this one isn't getting it for a different reason. Pops said so. He said he'd love to give it to him, but got 'orders from above'. What's above?" the snake asked her, but cut her off before she could even blink. "I dunno, but it sounds important. Pops said he has to wait two weeks then do this again with all the chakra he's got. Sssssssssorry Anko." the rainbow-colored snake said before poofing away, making both master and student stare at the now empty ground with equally puzzled looks.

"Uhh, so I'm not getting the snakes as a summon?" Sasuke asked, making Anko shrug in response. "This didn't happen with me brat, the fuck should I know? 'S long as Orochibastard isn't involved ya should be fine." she declared, and Sasuke accepted the answer even if he was skeptical about it.

"Forget about that, try the crows now!" Anko barked, making Sasuke glare at her. She pulled out the scroll containing the crows' contract and threw it to him, who laid it down on the ground and wrote his name on it. He tried ignoring the fact he knew it was Itachi's name above his even though it was blurred, and again performed the summoning jutsu. It was as easy to do as breathing, his Sharingan having copied it from Anko in one of the sparring matches she forced him to use it.

The crow that appeared was the same size as any normal crow, but scars in the form of a cross around each eye quickly threw away the idea that it was just a crow. Sasuke idly wondered how the animal managed to keep its eyes with such wounds, but knew better than to ask.

"Ahh, you were bound to call for us. You were spoken about in high regards to us by our previous summoner, after all. My name is Odin, and I have genjutsu capabilities as well as good advice. Don't mind the eyes please. I can assure you it wasn't as painful as you think, seeing as it was done at purpose in order to enlighten me. I was born blind you see." it explained, as Sasuke respectfully let it speak before introducing himself.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha, your new summoner." he declared with a neutral tone, earning an unexpected sigh from the crow.

"I already know that. However, what I do not know is why the snakes have told us you would have a most interesting contract soon. If you proved yourself worthy of it, that is." the crow spoke with annoyance in its tone, making the Uchiha glare. "So you know about it, too?" he asked, and the animal nodded in response.

"They spoke to us through a mental connection that had laid dormant for years. Perhaps even decades. Our elders trusted it, however, and so we decided we'd still allow you to sign our contract anyways. Normally you would be unable to sign more than one contract, but if this is what we believe it is then this case would most certainly be an exception." the crow explained, ignoring the growingly confused look from both of the humans present. Even Anko had no idea of what was going on; she wasn't very well versed in contracts, and had thought her brat could have signed them both without much problems.

"Okay… So what is this other contract I need to be worthy for?" Sasuke asked, eyeing the crow who flapped its wings in his form of a shrug. "Afraid it is not my right to say so master Sasuke. All I will say is, the summoning contract you may be receiving could very well be the strongest of all. The summoning animals it is with are, of course, related to the snakes. How or what they are, that is for you to find out when they want you to." the crow declared, and although he wasn't happy with it Sasuke nodded in acknowledgment. Anko was seething, however.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" she furiously demanded, having hoped Sasuke would share her contract. The crow merely bent its head forward as if it was smirking at the woman, then poofed out of existence. Anko blinked, then glared at the spot the crow used to occupy. Sasuke merely shrugged helplessly, mentally sharing his master's question but finding it useless to ask it out loud.

"Brat, I have no fucking clue what those animals want from ya but you better bring your A-game. I'll be around when you summon those snakes in two weeks like they asked you to. If Manda shows up we'll have to kill it." she warned, then turned to leave.

"W-wait a second! I'm so confused..." Sasuke called out to her, but Anko dismissed him with a backhand wave as she already walked her way towards the gate to the outside. "Figure it out kid! Your summons, your problem now." she declared and left a quiet Uchiha, who wanted to summon the crow back but failed to do so once he tried. The animal had telepathically told him to wait until the crow himself wanted to be summoned, as it was discussing the event with its fellow crows. Sasuke didn't even know summons could talk telepathically, the shock helping him simply taking Odin's word and forgetting about it for now.

He felt prepared for anything Kakashi could throw at him even without the crows. They were something he didn't expect, after all. And who could expect him to already be well-versed in summoning animals in the first place?

Sasuke couldn't help but feel nervous about it the next day, however. He had run Kakashi's words over and over in his mind and still felt uneasy despite having prepared as much as he could for it. There were multiple wires and exploding tags rigged for trap gear in his kunai pouch and pockets; Kakashi had said it was a field, so Sasuke prepared the standard traps for such an area. 'Aren't I the most clever ninja out of the Academy' he mentally patted himself for it, idly wondering if Naruto or Sakura would had caught on to the verbal tip. He didn't think they had.

It sucked that he had to skip breakfast, however.

"Yo!" Naruto grinned and waved at the Uchiha as he approached Training Ground Three, having a smile and a wave in response from the raven-haired boy. It had seemed Sakura was the last to arrive, but was still five minutes early even if she did feel nervous about having both boys get there before her. Her timid "Hi Sasuke" was met with a roll of the eyes from the boy, who pointed at the super-eager blond waving madly at her. And how could she ignore his "Hi Sakura-chan!" that he screamed at the top of his lungs? Seriously, Sasuke couldn't help but be annoyed at it.

She seemed to wise up about it and grunted a salute back, making Naruto grin at her proudly for finally getting her attention. Sakura sighed and extender her hand to the boy, making him blink and look at it as if it was the weirdest thing in the world. "I just wanna start all over, since we're a team now and all. Nice to meet you, I'm Sakura. Can you please stop screaming at me all the time?" she said in the most polite tone she could muster, making Naruto blink a few times before realization sank in.

"O-oh! You always got annoyed at me 'cause I'm so loud? Why didn't ya say so?" he replied with an innocent chuckle, shaking her hand with a sheepish grin. "Alright, my name is Naruto Uzumaki and I'll be Hokage one day. Believe it! But I'll also not scream at ya, sorry 'bout that." he declared and quickly let go of her hand, nervous at the gesture he definitely wasn't familiar with.

'Wait, was it that easy?' Sakura wondered as she looked at the blond rather stunned, having expected him to complain about it. Sasuke internally smiled; he knew Naruto would do next to anything if she asked him to, but whether for lack of knowing about it or lack of malice the girl had never used that against the boy.

The relative peace after the agreement helped them keep from pulling each others' hairs as Kakashi took at least two hours to arrive, making even Sasuke pissed off. "YOU'RE LATE!" all three shouted at the jonin as he casually walked towards them, hands in his pockets. "Maa maa, I just got lost in the road of life." Kakashi casually excused himself, to the shriek of "LIAR!" from Sakura and Naruto. Sasuke was too busy containing his twitching eyebrow to comment, though he knew it was true.

Kakashi didn't seem to had even heard them.

"So, let's get this started shall we?" he commented while pulling out two bells from his pouch. "You'll have to catch these. Whoever holds one when the timer is up will get lunch." Kakashi added, poofing a timer into existence and setting it on the ground. "If you fail to get one before the exercise ends, I'll send you back to the Academy."

"WHAAAAAT?!" was the cry from the two more vocal genin, as Sasuke limited himself to glare at the man.

"There's only two bells. One of us can't pass, then." the Uchiha pointed out, not liking the implication that Kakashi meant to send one of them back to the Academy no matter what.

"That's right. I did say you had a 66% chance to fail, but I'm feeling generous. Now your chances are only 33%… Or it would be, but I don't like brats. I might as well fail all of you if no one gets the bells from me." Kakashi drawled out with a carefree shrug, followed by another shriek of outrage from the gennin.

"That's not fair/What do you mean?" Sakura and Naruto asked at the same time, but Kakashi simply jumped backwards to stand several meters away from them. "Come and get me, if you can." the man teased as the timer started, then pulled out a book from his pouch and started reading.

"Hey!" Naruto growled, receiving no response as Kakashi merely ignored him while Sakura rushed to hide in the bushes next to the open field they were in.

Sasuke, however, could only facepalm as he knew what Naruto would do. He knew it was too much to hope for that the blond would simply cool off and act like a stealthy ninja for once. 'This Kakashi guy pressed Naruto's buttons like it's nobody's business, the idiot is gonna rush him' Sasuke thought and was instantly proven right. The Uchiha secured the bandana around his eyes as quickly as he could, sensing as Naruto's punch was easily parried by Kakashi's free hand who didn't even have to stop reading.

"Damnit Naruto!" Sasuke growled out but rushed to flank Kakashi, who easily jumped away from the shuriken the Uchiha tried to distract him with. "Wha-" Naruto barely let out before Sasuke roughly yanked him away and threw him to the ground, hitting it with a thud.

"What the hell you did that for teme?" Naruto growled, sobbing his hurting butt while standing up. Sasuke didn't let his gaze away from the jonin even for a second.

"Idiot. What makes you think you can face a jonin alone?" the Uchiha asked, making Naruto grit his teeth. "So what? You guys need the bells, I'll just kick his ass! You two can take em when he's tired, even if he does kick the crap outta me!" the blond replied, making Sasuke want to facepalm right there and then.

"A noble sacrifice." Kakashi sarcastically muttered while passing to the next page, not looking the least interested in what the boys were trying to do. Even if that was kicking his ass.

Not that he had to. Naruto wasn't even close to landing a scratch on him. It was pathetic by his standards, but at least they weren't running away scared. His carefree demeanor seemed to have worked as well; Sasuke already intervened to help Naruto, and the blond wasn't selfishly trying to rush him. Even if it was a foolish plan, it held his teammates into account. Kakashi couldn't fully knock that down. It would be a noble sacrifice, if an useless one as well.

"So what do YOU wanna do then?" Naruto demanded to know while pouting and crossing his arms. Kakashi couldn't help but think of the thousand ways he could kill the boy for taking such a defenseless stance. In fact, that gave him an idea…

Even for Sasuke's senses Kakashi had moved in a flash, crouching behind Naruto with an evil glint in his uncovered eye. 'Let's see how you handle this!' Kakashi thought to himself as he held two fingers stretched out in the tiger seal, pointing them right at Naruto's unprotected pants. "Thousand Years Of Death!" he shouted as his target flew off screaming bloody murder before crashing into a lake a few meters from where he stood. 'Damn, I didn't think he'd be so quick to react. And he took a bullet for the team, too.' Kakashi admitted to himself as Sasuke crawled out of the water, having used a Kawarimi with Naruto at the last moment who now blinked and wondered what the hell did Kakashi do. He was used to Sasuke's chakra tugging on him for Kawarimis, as the raven-haired boy had occasionally helped him with pranks and Naruto helped him back to escape from Anko's relentless pursuits so he automatically accepted it.

He felt bad for Sasuke, but he was damn glad he did. Getting poked in the butt sounded way too painful.

It also pissed him off.

Kakashi didn't like the look of rage on Naruto's face, and had to try really hard not to be intimidated by the sheer number of clones the blond popped out a second later. 'So that's what he fought Mizuki with? Even unprepared jonin could lose to that if it's a bad matchup for their skills. This is crazy levels of orange...' the silver-haired jonin analyzed, calmly closing his Icha Icha Paradise book and pocketing it.

"We're gonna kick your ass for that!" the Narutos said in a chorus, but Kakashi simply hummed. "If you're done making plans for a date later, I want to get back to reading my book. Just come at me with intent to kill, not that you'll even touch me." he taunted with a mocking tone, a bored look in his eyes. Mentally he marked the spot he heard a gasp from when Naruto used his Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu. A rookie mistake from Sakura, but to her credit it would take superhearing to having heard that slip. Which a high jonin usually had.

'Now, to get through the sea of orange first...' Kakashi thought to himself as the first clones threw their first punch, that he easily evaded and countered with fluid and lightning-quick motions. The next dozen of clones had similar luck, even as Kakashi limited himself to taijutsu. 'Hmm, should I crank it up to ninjutsu?' he idly wondered while blocking a kick that got a bit too close, only to notice that the next clone was attacking faster than the rest.

"Hiya!" the clone let out while throwing an overhead spinning kick, making it the second hit Kakashi had been forced to block and the first one to make the man jump back. It was easy to dispatch the Naruto clones waiting for him there, but something was off. 'His clones shouldn't have this strength or speed… A henge, then. Sasuke sure thinks quick on his feet.' Kakashi mentally acknowledged and started doing handsigns, only for a clone to throw a kunai at him.

It was way too close to dodge and keep doing handsigns, so he snatched the bladed weapon out of the air and threw it back. Of course the clones couldn't hope to rain metal on him; they'd hit each other more than threaten him, but if he stayed still to do handsigns…

'Hmm. So they're keeping me from using ninjutsu. Not bad.' Kakashi had to again acknowledge, resorting to pure taijutsu again as if it was no trouble for him. Then a literal wave of Narutos jumped at him, as if preparing to dogpile on him. While Kakashi wasn't having it and would simply burst through the middle of it with a kick, instead he jumped back and barely dodged a fireball that blasted through the clones and nearly hit him head-on.

"Damnit!" one of the Narutos cursed, presumably the real one, and Kakashi tagged the likely place where Sasuke had to be to have fired his jutsu. 'I need to keep track of that. It's an honest to goodness Fireball Jutsu. Well then...' Kakashi decided, and a puff of smoke came out of the smoke bomb he quickly cracked in his fingers. When it dissipated ten shuriken shot out of his hands, all of them hitting clones that poofed out of existence. "You'll have to try harder than that." Kakashi goaded, visibly untouched and untroubled.

Then the Narutos smirked and all of them ran the handsigns for the Fireball Jutsu. Kakashi's mouth opened just slightly under his mask, thrown off-balance by the sudden trick only to narrowly avoid a single fireball that came from behind him.

'Ugh.' Kakashi mentally groaned as he had not completely evaded the attack. Then, he poofed out of existence.

"Wh-what?" the Narutos asked in confusion before the ground broke and one of them was sucked into it all the way to his neck. 'Naruto' poofed and turned into Sasuke, who blinked in utter confusion as Kakashi popped out of the ground at front of him and stood tall. "You gave yourself away Sasuke." Kakashi gravely declared. And then frowned as the Uchiha smirked. "And you just went into the center of a sea of Narutos." Sasuke declared, and immediately punches and kicks started raining into the jonin.

By the time Kakashi fought his way out of the sudden dogpile he was definitely scratched. Sasuke freed himself when he hadn't been looking, though his smell of dirt let Kakashi keep good track of him even if he wasn't using chakra to heighten his senses. By then even Sakura joined the mayhem of Naruto clones, convinced by the real Naruto who Sasuke had instructed to do so. The pink-haired kunoichi hesitated at first, but when a Naruto clone decided they didn't have time to waste and Henge'd himself into Sasuke the girl wasn't the wiser and quickly complied.

They still couldn't so much as touch the bells, though. Sakura had attempted a mild genjutsu that made it look like she was also performing the Fireball Jutsu alongside Sasuke, which almost threw Kakashi off until he again disappeared into the ground. As resourceful as the three were, they had no way to unearth him and the jonin didn't fall to any of their tricks after that. The timer sounded just as the man came out of the ground reading his book, signaling the end of their chance to get him.

"Hmm, you three gave it pretty good tries. I was thinking you'd need more time to show me your worth, but it seems like this is enough. So. Who of you knows which two I should pass?" he asked as if it was rhetorical, making all three gulp and look at each other.

Sasuke was the first to look down, clenching his fists. "My fireball caused more casualties to Naruto's clones than even you did. Sakura's method to take advantage of them was less harmful to our own side, so they should get to pass." he declared miserably, his eyes locked to the ground.

"No way! He cleaned through my clones like paper! It was you guys that actually did anything cool to him, like when Sakura got him all dizzy and you kept almost burning his butt!" Naruto protested, but Sakura shook her head. "No Naruto, your clones were the only reason we could do anything. Besides, my genjutsu was useless unless Sasuke did something great. And Kakashi-sensei didn't fall for it. I'm weaker at taijutsu than you two, so I was the useless one..." she spoke, ending it in a whisper as the thought of being useless made her eyes sting. She knew Kakashi would be strong, but the word didn't quite cover the man's ability to sleepwalk through everything they did.

"Well, if I put your stories together it means you three were equally useless. That makes you..." Kakashi sentenced, drawing out the end as the three gennin winced and prepared for the worst. "...Pass!" he happily exclaimed. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura promptly face-vaulted.

* * *

Hi there boys and girls! Here's a new chapter! Oh, I'm late? Well, I got lost on the road of life. Enjoy the chapter!


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